Fix & flip
Buying broken, renovating on a budget, selling at retail. Deal analysis, rehab management, and why flip profits are fuel, not the destination.
7 pieces, ordered by horizon
Y2Mobile home flipping: real estate's minor leagues, with real paychecksBuy used homes in parks for $5–25k, renovate light, sell for cash or on payments — deal sizes a savings account can fund, margins houses can't match, and the park manager as your entire deal pipeline.Deep dive6mY2The live-in flip: how Section 121 makes house flipping tax-freeBuy the ugly house, renovate while living in it, sell after two years, and exclude up to $250k/$500k of gain — the only flip the tax code loves, and the lifestyle math of repeating it every two years.Deep dive7mY3Estimating rehab costs: from napkin bands to line-item job costingThree levels of renovation math — the 60-second per-foot bands, the room-by-room walk-through method, and the full line-item scope of work — plus the contingency discipline and the ten costs everyone forgets.Deep dive6mY3Hiring and managing contractors: the skill that decides every renovationFinding the good ones, bidding one scope three ways, contracts that protect both sides, draw schedules that pay for work not promises, and the weekly management rhythm — the people system behind every profitable flip.Deep dive7mY3House flipping strategies: the complete guide from cosmetic to gut rehabSixteen ways to manufacture equity and harvest it — cosmetic flips, live-in flips, land, mobile homes, entitlements, foreclosures — ranked by capital, risk, and what each one teaches.Roadmap11mY3How to determine ARV: comping like an appraiser, not an optimistAfter-repair value is the number every flip lives or dies on — the comp-selection rules, the adjustments that matter, the appraiser's eye view, and the optimism tax that ruins more deals than any contractor.Deep dive7mY3The 70% rule in house flipping: how it works, when it lies, and the math behind itMaximum offer = 70% of ARV minus repairs. Why the formula exists, what's actually inside the missing 30%, and when 70 is the wrong number.Deep dive6mMore in Capital
Earning your first capitalW-2 optimization, side income, savings rate and clean bank statements — the unglamorous runway every strategy below stands on.WholesalingFinding deals other investors will pay for. Marketing, negotiation, assignment contracts — capital built from hustle instead of savings.BRRRR & value-addBuy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat — recycling one pile of capital through multiple doors without selling anything.New construction & developmentInfill builds, small development, land. Bigger checks, longer timelines, and the leap from renovator to developer.Creative acquisitionsSeller financing, subject-to, options and lease-options — controlling property with structure instead of cash.