10/23/2007

Why Watching 'Flip That House' May Be Hazardous To Your Health

The yawn policeman has now apparently decided that he's going to be a real estate mogul. This has provided no end of amusement to my days as he seems to be intent on conducting the start of this new real estate business while at work. The major problems that I see with his plan are as follows (in no particular order):

  • He has never been to any of the cities where he thinks he's going to make his fortune (Detroit, Indianapolis, and Charlotte).
  • Because of the first bullet, he has no idea what good parts of town are, and so his quest centers only on finding inexpensive properties because he wants "to buy as many as possible for as little as possible."
  • He doesn't want to sell after the renovation, he wants to rent.
  • He doesn't know any contractors and thus is asking the various real estate agents he contacts if they can make recommendations. (There's nothing overtly wrong with that other than the fact that it doesn't mean you're going to get the best quality for the best price...it means you're getting a friend of your Realtor. This may or may not be a good thing. Plus...who hires a contractor without meeting them?)
  • He has made offers on at least two properties having seen only the MLS listing and deciding that the price was right. Who actually buys a house based on the one cruddy picture you get on the MLS listing??? Though I guess maybe if you're just going to gut and rebuild that's less of an issue.
  • He's doing this all at work. Loudly. That probably isn't going to go over super well when/if the management finds out.
I looked up one of the properties he was excited about. (He was shouting the MLS into his cell and then the address...Google is a wonderful thing.) It's a foreclosure and just looking at the thing...well, he's going to have his work cut out for him. Plus, I'm not super sure about "good parts of town" in Charlotte, but given the state of the house I would be wary and at least want to go down one weekend and see it in person before committing my cash to it.

Add to all of that, has he never watched the show about first time flippers?

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