The real estate market is a fickle mistress, she rises and falls as the economy does, but not always in sync with it.  New investors may mistakenly think that a bad real estate market means that they can’t make any money.  However, there are plenty of deals to make even in a poor real estate market.  You just need some persistence and it doesn’t hurt to have a few house flipping tips on hand.

Find the Right Market:

When house flipping or wholesaling you have to find the right real estate market for your deals.  Or, if you can’t move you have to choose the right investment strategy for your area.   For example, short sales strategies aren’t going to find you very many deals in an area with a low foreclosure rate. 

A good way to determine how hot a local market is for wholesales and house flipping investing is to look at the numbers of current and new home construction for the past year.  Steady construction rates mean that the market probably doesn’t have a lot of room for high returns on discounted house investments, since the market is already flush with new affordable property.   

Another way to find a good market is to check the appreciation rates in your surrounding area.  In recent years the real estate market has depreciated in general, but there are still many towns and communities where property values are holding their own and even rising. 

Look for Homeowners Who Need to Sell:

This common sense tip for house flipping is probably easy to overlook.  The best real estate market investors buy properties from homeowners who really need to sell, meaning they get the best discounts and rates on property.  Some homeowners are in pre-foreclosure and just want to get out of their mortgage before it ruins their credit.  If you can negotiate a good shortsale with the bank you can come away from the deal with a property that is discounted as much as thirty to forty percent.

Homeowners who are desperate to sell their extra homes are easy to find.  You can look them up in the county courthouses, in foreclosure listings in the classifieds of local papers or by getting to know local estate attorneys. 

Go for the Sure Thing:

It’s easy to get over eager when investing in real estate and take unnecessary risks on property.  Your best bet for success in this market is to build slowly but surely with each successful deal.  Don’t feel bad about making $3,000 to $5,000 on an assignment of contract.  Okay, it’s only one deal of the many dozens you can potentially complete in a year. That kind of income adds up quickly. 

This applies to deals made on risky property, like that old fixer upper that might need a little more fixing up than you can afford.  Don’t assume you can fix up a property and sell it for more than other properties in the area are selling for.  If you want to invest in big mansions, and then do it in an area where there are other big mansions. 

Develop Your Exit Strategy before Buying:

As you get further into real estate investing you’ll find that you already have those essential exit strategies for selling property in place.  This house flipping tip applies more to the new investor than the experienced investor.  You’ll want to have your buyer list prepared before you sign a contract with the homeowner.  It’s also a good idea to know what kinds of advertising you’ll be using too. 

Some investors may decide that they only want to rent out the property they are buying.  If you are going into landlording then you’ll need to have classified ads lined up for the rental, you’ll need to have a contractor on hand to fix up any damage, it’s also a good idea to have a small emergency fund set up in case something breaks in the rental and you need to fix it for the tenant. 

Start looking at that exit strategy before you sign on the dotted line for your investment property.  You’ll find that the deal goes more smoothly if you do.

There can be a million and one tips for house flipping to keep in mind.  It’s certainly enough to keep the average investor bogged down in information.  Just remember when investing in the real estate market that all you really need to improve your chances are patience, determination and good old fashioned common sense.