how to find houses to flip

How to Find Houses to Flip: 4 Different Ways

So you want to fix and flip houses, but you don't know how to find houses to flip.

Starting a house flipping business is a great way to get into real estate. Whether you are handy and want to do the renovations yourself or you are planning on hiring a crew, flipping houses is an excellent choice for real estate investors. But you have to find the right investment property for the strategy to succeed.

So, How Do You Find Your First House to Flip?

While you probably have a clear picture of how you would carry out renovations and handle the project, it might not be as clear how to find investment properties for sale. And not only do you want to find investment properties for sale, but you want to find the right ones.

Like most things you try, flipping real estate the first time is always the hardest. But once you get started flipping houses, you will quickly learn the ropes and start making money in real estate.

Fortunately, when it comes to finding houses to fix and flip, you have plenty of options. It is simply a matter of giving it a try and finding out what works for you.

Related: Flipping Houses for Beginners: What You Need to Know Before Getting Started

#1- Network in Your Community

Never underestimate what you gain from networking in your community. While it is not always a guarantee you will learn how to find houses to flip this way, it may give you a few leads. Word of mouth is still important, and if you are "in the know," you can find out about real estate deals just as they are going on the market.

A great way to get in touch with other real estate investors and realtors who have access to valuable information is to join a community real estate group. The chance of scoring a great find makes it worth joining, and it can be fun and informative to network with other people who are in the industry.

#2- Look for Auctions and Foreclosed Homes

The idea behind flipping real estate is to buy investment properties below market value and add significant value to achieve the highest return on investment. Sometimes, the best properties to go for are auctions or foreclosed homes.

Need a way to search for properties? Try Mashvisor where you can easily find foreclosed homes for sale.

Foreclosed or bank owned homes are often listed for less than what they are worth because it costs banks money to hold them. They want these properties to sell quickly, and they will often provide real estate investors with excellent opportunities.

Auctions are another great way to snag a real estate deal as long as the bidding stays low. Buyers beware: these homes are sometimes auctioned off "sight unseen." In other words, you won't always know what you are getting into.

Real estate investor tip: In these situations, it's important to have an outstanding real estate agent (or extensive industry knowledge) to help guide you through the process.

Related: Real Estate Auctions: Everything You Need to Know

#3- Mashvisor Property Marketplace

If you want to know how to find houses to flip, taking advantage of Mashvisor's tools is going to be your best bet.

Successful real estate investors and house-flippers understand the importance of real estate investment software, and they use it to their benefit.

One feature of Mashvisor's awesome real estate investor toolkit is the Mashvisor Property Marketplace. With this tool, you can search for off market properties. The best part? These often end up being great deals, and, unlike real estate investors who don't utilize this tool, you will have access to them.

What are off market properties? These are properties that are not publicly listed, and they are typically difficult to gain access to without a tool like the Mashvisor Property Marketplace.

how to find houses to flip - property marketplace

Mashvisor Property Marketplace

This is the perfect solution for investors who can't rely on word of mouth for these secret deals because they are planning to flip houses for sale in a different city or state or simply don't have time to do the networking.

#4- Mashboard

Another tool Mashvisor offers investors is Mashboard. This neat piece of real estate investment software will help you find distressed properties with owners who potentially may want to sell. If you are wondering how to find houses to flip before other investors do, this tool will come in handy. By finding these deals before they go on the market, you are completely cutting through the competition!

How to Find Out Who Owns a House Using Mashboard:

Search for distressed properties of interest
Access Mashboard's homeowner data and find out who the owner of the property is
Use Mashboard's data to locate their contact information
Contact them through Mashboard about making them a deal for their property

Related: How to Find Out Who Owns a House in 6 Steps

What would have been a missed opportunity or hours of labor and property owner search can become a matter of a few simple steps, thanks to Mashboard. With this tool at your disposal, knowing how to find houses to flip has never been easier.

How Can You Be Sure You Found the Right House to Flip? Use Real Estate Comps

Understanding how to find houses to flip is two-fold. First, you must have access to information about investment properties for sale so you can start your search. However, you must also be able to perform real estate analysis for the properties you are considering. You won't know if the houses you are finding are truly good deals until you make some calculations.

This is where Mashvisor comes in yet again- our software boasts real estate data for each and every listing in our massive database, including real estate comps.

How to Find the Best Houses to Flip Using Real Estate Comps:

First, you should calculate ARV, or after repair value.

ARV= property's current value + value of renovations

The ARV of a property can easily be determined by finding real estate comps that represent the property once it is fully renovated. Finding comparable properties in prime condition will tell you how much you can eventually sell the home for, and this will give you a sense of how much money you can make.

Related: How to Flip Houses with the Help of Mashvisor

Get Started on Your House Flipping Business

Hopefully, this article gave you a good idea of how to find houses to flip so you can get started on your house flipping business. While there are certainly numerous ways to find investment properties for sale, knowing how to find houses to flip is best accomplished with the help of real estate investment tools.

Between gaining access to off market properties, homeowner data, and helpful real estate comps, Mashvisor is the all-in-one toolkit for investors who flip houses for sale. When using our tools, there is never a need to waste time searching for real estate data or creating complicated spreadsheets.

Start out your 7-day free trial with Mashvisor now, and get everything you need in order to know how to find houses to flip successfully.

Jordan Greenich

Jordan is a freelance writer and entrepreneur who loves sharing her real estate knowledge. She is the CEO & founder of Philosophy Marketing, a marketing agency that helps realtors and real estate investors scale their income while taking back more time freedom.