How much money do I need to start flipping houses?

With hard money or private lending, you can start with as little as 10–20% down on the purchase plus a rehab reserve. Cash flippers typically need 100% of purchase plus rehab plus holding costs.

What's a typical fix-and-flip profit margin?

Experienced flippers target 10–20% of ARV in net profit. A $300,000 ARV flip would target $30,000–$60,000 in profit.

How long does a flip usually take?

Most flips run 4–9 months from purchase to sale — typically 1–3 months of rehab plus listing and closing time.

Investing strategy

Fix and Flip Investing

Buy distressed, renovate, sell for profit — the most common active real estate strategy.

What is fix and flip?

Fix and flip is the practice of buying a distressed property at a discount, renovating it to current market condition, and reselling at a profit within a short holding period (typically 4–9 months). Success depends on accurate after-repair value (ARV) estimates, disciplined rehab budgets, and tight project timelines.

The 70% rule

Most flippers cap their maximum offer at 70% of the ARV minus rehab costs. A property with a $300,000 ARV and $40,000 in rehab implies a maximum offer of $170,000 (300,000 × 0.70 − 40,000). The remaining 30% covers closing, holding, selling costs, and profit. The rule is a shortcut, not a law: in competitive, high-cost markets it's often too conservative to win deals, so investors there underwrite at 75–80% of ARV (accepting thinner margins) — or skip the shortcut entirely and work backward from itemized costs plus a target profit (MAO = ARV − rehab − closing − holding − selling − profit).

Key numbers to track

Purchase price, rehab budget, holding costs (taxes, insurance, utilities, loan interest), selling costs (agent commission, closing), and ARV. Most flips fail because one of these — usually rehab — runs over budget.

How FlipOS helps

FlipOS includes a deal analyzer with the 70% rule built in, automated sales comps to nail your ARV, a line-item rehab estimator, project timelines, materials inventory, AI virtual staging for the listing, and a contractor CRM — everything you need to run a flip from offer through sale.

Run Fix and Flip deals in FlipOS

FlipOS includes a deal analyzer with fix and flip built in, plus project management, CRM, and budgets for after the deal closes.

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Frequently asked questions

How much money do I need to start flipping houses?: With hard money or private lending, you can start with as little as 10–20% down on the purchase plus a rehab reserve. Cash flippers typically need 100% of purchase plus rehab plus holding costs.
What's a typical fix-and-flip profit margin?: Experienced flippers target 10–20% of ARV in net profit. A $300,000 ARV flip would target $30,000–$60,000 in profit.
How long does a flip usually take?: Most flips run 4–9 months from purchase to sale — typically 1–3 months of rehab plus listing and closing time.