Before I make an offer, I don't just run the numbers once. I run what happens when things go wrong. What if it sells for less than I think? What if the renovation goes over budget? What if the buyer asks for a bigger concession at closing? If I can still walk away making money after all three, I buy it. If one bad month wipes out my profit, I don't. That's why I have a minimum profit I need on every flip, and why I've moved toward houses in areas where prices are still going up. It's a lot easier to make it work when the worst case is still a win. Which one worries you most: selling for less, going over budget, or concessions? Tell me below.

Stop focusing on the house and start focusing on the lead source. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tYDd_W18eF0 Every investor I know who's doing well understands this. The house is just where a lead ended up. When you know where your leads come from, you can go get more of them. Look at your last five leads. Where did each one come from? An agent, a wholesaler, your MLS search, someone you know? Tell me below which source brought you the most.

I used to underwrite my flips for 6 months. Now every single one is 10. Houses are sitting longer. Some of mine sit on the market for 4 or 5 months, and that's after the renovation. If I only budgeted 6 months of holding costs, I'd be in trouble. Two things this changes for me: 1. I won't take a short loan. Most hard money lenders give 12 to 18 months. If a private lender offers me 6, I ask for at least 9, and I plan on extending. 2. I don't panic. When a low offer comes in during the first month, I can say no, because I've already built in the time to wait for the right buyer. How many months of holding costs do you put in your numbers? Reply with a number.

This happened to me in August. I was refinancing a house, and the appraisal came back way under what I'd underwritten. Not a little under. Tens of thousands under. I said absolutely not. I turned that lender down, opened a file with another lender, and the second appraisal came back right around my number. On a refinance, you can do that. You can switch lenders and get a new appraisal. When it's your end buyer's appraisal, you have fewer choices. You can fight it, you can lower your price, or you can let that buyer go and find another one, and that could cost you months of payments. And there are new appraisal rules out there, so this is happening more. That's why I build room into my numbers before I ever buy. Has an appraisal ever surprised you, good or bad? Tell me what happened.

When you're new, you won't know what a deal is yet. That's normal. The most important skill you can learn is how to comp a property. If you don't know how yet, comp a friend: find someone in your market who does it and learn from them. A great deal in one market can be a terrible deal in another, so learn what makes a deal where you're buying. I'm recording a whole section on comping and analyzing deals for Academy Pro right now. Do you comp your own properties yet? Reply yes, no, or learning.