How long does it take to flip a house is a common question. What is flipping after all? The name itself makes you think of something that’s quick and easy, like flipping a pancake.
While buying, renovating, and selling a home is a huge undertaking, flipping homes shouldn’t take too much time otherwise you start to make a loss instead of a profit.
How long does it take to flip a house?
You’re looking at an average of a few months, bearing in mind that the time it takes to flip a house can vary depending on the property.
For example, a house that needs more renovations or is more difficult to sell would take longer to flip.
There are some important factors you need to know about how long it takes to flip houses, and they’re outlined below.
In addition, let’s look at things you could do to speed up the house-flipping process so you can claim your profits sooner.
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How Long Does It Take To Flip A Home? Step-By-Step Breakdown Of The Process
There are three main stages involved in flipping a home: buying the property you want to flip, making the necessary renovations on it, and then selling it.
According to CNBC, it takes 180 days on average to flip a house.
Let’s take a look at each of these stages in more detail.
Buying The Property: 1 Month
This stage can take less than one month to finish, but it varies depending on your specific situation.
If you have purchased the property at an auction or through a realtor, this will extend the time it takes to seal the deal.
Of course, sometimes it can take months to find a good deal on a house, bearing in mind that you have to research the neighborhoods properly and with time before going ahead.
You might have to be patient, especially if you’re just starting out as a house flipper.
When you’ve found a house you’re interested in purchasing, make sure you have a team that can help to make the process of buying much faster and smoother.
Wesley Stanton of real estate company Douglas Elliman tells Trulia that this forms part of your preparation – and it’s key if you want to shorten the process of buying a home.
Your team should include a mortgage banker, a real estate attorney, and a real estate broker.
Renovating The Property: 3-4 Months
The timeframe for this stage will also vary a bit because it depends on how much work the house needs before it can be put on the market.
The time that goes into renovations can also be extended if there are unforeseen problems that come up.
However, you can speed up the renovating process by having an organized and talented team of workers on the job.
You can also keep the project on track by being hands-on with your team, even if you’re not the one in charge of the project.
This could include daily or weekly calls to check that everything is going according to plan.
Passive house flipping is risky and can cause problems to arise which will accumulate costs and cause you to waste time.
Pro tip: While you might only contact a real estate agent when you’re ready to sell the house, it can be beneficial to contact them earlier in the process when you’re getting ready to renovate it.
This is because a real estate agent can help you figure out which repairs and renovations are crucial as well as which ones are unnecessary and won’t add value to the property, thus saving you time.
Selling the property: 1-2 Months
While this stage might seem like the easiest in the house-flipping process, it can actually be the most time-consuming.
According to stats by real estate company Zillow, most homes remained on the market for just over two months in 2018.
While how long your house stays on the market can depend on factors that are out of your control, there are things you can do to make the home more appealing to potential buyers.
These include ensuring that the home doesn’t have large repairs for homebuyers to have to deal with, as well as listing the home for an under-the-market price to lure multiple buyers.
As The Balance states, doing this has the effect of driving up the value of the house because of how competition breeds desire.
How To Further Quicken The Process Of Selling: Make sure you list the price for the home at an amount that isn’t over what you can realistically get from it.
While it can be tempting to shoot for the moon, this will just cause the property to sit on the market for longer and collect dust.
By knowing the value of the home and pricing it according to other comparable homes in the area, you increase your chances of finding a buyer quicker.
A real estate agent can also help you because they will have knowledge about other homes that are selling in your neighborhood as well as the current market.
Why Time Is key In House Flipping
If you’re not concerned with the question “How long does it take to flip a house?” then you’re off on the wrong footing.
Maybe you’re not interested in becoming a professional house flipper, so you might wonder if the time it takes to sell a house really matters.
But it does!
Even if you’re only interested in flipping one or a few houses, time is money and you don’t want to waste either one.
You will only get your profit by the time the property you have renovated is sold, after all, so you need to work fast without compromising on quality.
It’s also important to consider that time can be more important than the percentage of return you get on an individual house.
For example, it’s probably more profitable for you to flip a house and get a 30 percent profit from it within two months than it is to receive a 40 percent profit on a house that can only be sold within a year.
When it comes to selling the house you want to flip, it’s also crucial that your listing doesn’t stay on the market for too long as this can cause it to lose appeal.
This could result in you having to drastically lower the selling price, which reduces your profit.
So, never underestimate the importance of setting the price for the house at the correct amount and do your research so you know what home buyers in the area are looking for in a home.
Four Of The Best States For House Flipping
If you’re interested in house flipping, it could be a good idea to choose to sell and fix homes in some states over others.
It’s amazing how different states sometimes have very different timeframes when it comes to flipping homes.
Location is therefore extremely important to consider and can help you to sell your property much quicker.
Here is a rundown of four of the best states for faster house flipping.
Tennessee
A ranking of the best states in which to flip houses that were conducted by GoBanking Rates found that Tennessee properties flip the fastest, with an average of just 147 days.
Memphis is an especially hot zone for flipping, with homes selling at 68 days on average in this city, according to Zillow (as reported by Bob Vila).
Florida
Homes in the sunshine state can be flipped within 151 days.
Orlando is especially thriving, with the value of homes in the city on the rise.
This is said to be thanks to the city’s exceptional growth in the tech, aerospace, and healthcare industries.
Louisiana
This is another hot zone for flipping fast, with homes taking an average of 166 days to flip in this state.
Louisiana also provides an average profit of $71,866 on flipped houses. Two of the best cities to flip houses in this state are New Orleans and Baton Rouge, according to Homes.
Colorado
While it takes about 180 days to flip homes in Colorado, house flipping can bring you a significant return on investment, and this is what makes Colorado a must to mention on this list.
You’re looking at an average of 155.6 ROI on your properties, according to The Mortgage Reports, as well as profits of approximately $74,000.
So it’s clearly still worth it, even though it takes approximately 176 days to flip a house.
Related Questions
Does Experience Improve How Quickly You Can Flip A House?
The six-month time average described above shouldn’t be considered standard when it comes to how long it takes to flip houses.
If you’re an experienced fix-and-flipper with a great team, you could buy, fix, and sell a house within three months.
Should You Follow The “Buy The Worst House In The Best Neighborhood” Rule?
Yes, as long as the house has a good foundation.
Ugly homes in a good neighborhood sell for cheaper and resell for greater profit.
To ensure the house is flip-worthy, subtract the cost of the repairs from the post-renovation value of the house, so you stay within budget, as Fit Small Business reports.
What States Have The Lowest House-Flip Stats?
It’s probably a good idea to avoid house flipping in some states, such as those in which house flipping takes longer than 180 days.
These include the states of Wyoming (231 days), Montana (223 days), Mississippi (220 days), Hawaii (198 days), and South Dakota (188 days), as CNBC reports.
Bottom Line
“How long does it take to flip a house?” is a valuable question to ask yourself if you’re interested in house-flipping.
Working hard to ensure that the house you’ve purchased with the intention to repair and resell won’t sit on the market for too long is important to help you increase your profits and ensure that your flip never flops.
You can quicken the process by choosing the right location for your sell and following the tips in this article for each stage of the house-flipping process.
