How to Find Fix and Flip Properties: 7 Little-Known Tricks

Want to master how to find fix and flip properties? Some of the best ways may be right under your nose—and you don’t even know it! In this article, we’ll uncover some little-known methods to cinch that perfect property. Look below to learn more.

Table of Contents

• How to Find Fix and Flip Properties in Unusual Ways
• A Comprehensive List of Popular Property Listing Databases

Main Takeaways

• To find houses to flip, check real estate (bank)-owned home listings, government-owned home listings, public records, expired listings, estate sales, outer-market investor advice, and attorney intel.

How to Find Fix and Flip Properties in Unusual Ways

With a little creativity, you can learn how to find fix and flip properties in the most unexpected places. Our Baltimore hard money lending pros suggest these tips:

Check Real Estate-Owned Listings

When banks or lenders can’t auction off foreclosed homes, they take possession of them again. Then, they try to sell them elsewhere. Since they want to sell them so much, they may be more willing to give you a bargain. So, call your local bank to ask which REO listings are floating around.

Explore Government-Owned Home Listings

People learning how to find homes to flip often overlook a great resource: government-owned homes.

Various government agencies offer home-buying loans under certain conditions. Then, after those homes are foreclosed upon, they can end up repossessing the properties. In turn, you can tap into exceptional deals. These websites include:

• HUD Homestore: This site lets you find homes the US Department of Housing and Urban Development owns and auctions off. It is organized by state, so you can easily find houses to flip in your area.
• HUD Multifamily Property Listings: This site lists new multi-family homes for sale each Wednesday.
• HomePath by Fannie Mae: As the name indicates, this site shows you homes repossessed by Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae may repair some aspects of the home ahead of selling it, so that’s less work for you to do. Note, however, that “First Look” properties are reserved for prospective homeowners and community organizations, only.
• HomeSteps Freddie Mac Homes: Freddie Mac’s site works very similarly to Fannie Mac’s.
• S. General Service Administration Auctions: This site shows a smorgasbord of various government-owned properties. The GSA also uses its Real Property Disposition site to sell properties, so take note.
• S. Treasury Auctions: This site showcases properties that previous owners had to surrender because they violated Treasury Law.
• IRS Auctions: This site displays properties repossessed by the IRS.
• RealLook: A site with properties sold by the U.S. Marshals Service.
• S. Department of Agriculture Properties: This site shows single and multi-family properties that the department is selling off.

Glimpse at Public Records

You can also find houses to flip by scouring public records. To do this, you could reach out to various courts’ representatives. For example, you could see whether your local probate court has any open cases. Or, you could go to your town hall or local recorder’s office to obtain new records. By doing this, you could find imminent sales happening near you.

Search for Expired Listings

As the name implies, expired listings are ones left unsold after their sale period ends.

Such listings can be a great opportunity to find hidden gems that are uniquely suited for flipping. As you can imagine, people can pass on good properties because of a few glaring, but fixable, flaws.

For example, the property may miss features buyers want. Or, it could have structural issues that require addressing. With a bit of TLC, these homes could transform into prime properties.

Even better, because the seller has struggled to sell their property, they may be more amenable to negotiations. After all, it’s more profitable to sell the property for less than not selling it at all. Plus, you will likely face little competition. All this puts you in an ideal position.

Tap Into Estate Sales

One additional tip for how to find and fix properties is finding estate sales. The popular EstateSales.net has an A BBB rating, so we would recommend looking there. Similarly, EstateSales.com (a different site!) has an A+ BBB rating, so that would work, too.

Talk to Outer-Market Investors

As an additional answer for how to find homes to flip, work on outer-market investor networking. In other words, get intel from other investors in non-competing markets. They have nothing to lose by sharing details about markets they have no stake in. So, they may have a pointer or two to share.

Or, you could read books by expert house-flipping investors to get more information. They could know some methods you haven’t considered.

Ask Attorneys

Lawyers may be working on cases concerning foreclosures, bankruptcies, or other property sales. Because of that, they may have advance notice of any impending sales. You could be first in line to get these properties.

A Comprehensive List of Popular Property Listing Databases

This next section has many popular sites. As such, it breaks this article’s theme a bit. However, when it comes to how to find fix-and-flip properties, there could always be sites you’ve missed. You should never leave a stone unturned. So, without further ado, here’s a thorough list of online databases:

• LoopNet
• Realtor
• PropertyShark
• Estately
• RealtyTrac
• Trulia
• Redfin
• Foreclosure.com
• FSBO.com
• MLS
• Craigslist
• Hubzu
• com
• RealtyBid
• Bid4Assets
• Tranzon

Of course, for every great deal on these sites, there are countless scams. Always do your due diligence before moving forward.

Find Houses to Flip with MHML Baltimore

You can find houses to flip by checking government sites, public records, bank repossession listings, and other unique approaches. By combing through these tips, you just may find a hidden gem.

That said, you can’t get a hidden gem before someone snatches it if you’re waiting for funding. You can’t sit on your thumbs while banks take months to approve you. Time is of the essence. Every minute counts. That’s why so many house flippers opt for hard money loans instead.

Hard money lenders’ approval timeframes are among the fastest in the loan industry. They can approve loans within days or weeks. Then, they usually deliver funding within 48 hours after approval. In addition, they let flippers customize loan terms based on each project’s needs. All these features can be critical for a flip’s time crunch.

What’s more, if you borrow from Maryland Hard Money Lenders, you may be eligible for a special deal. We offer up to 100% funding to investors with experience, sufficient credit, and good collateral. So, contact us today to get hyper-expedited loan delivery!