Dave Clabeaux ! Five Dangerous House Flipping Mistakes

Flipping a house for the first time is exciting!  Your head is spinning
with different ideas to improve the property you purchased, and of
course the possibility of big profits.

However, if you are not prepared, you can fall into the trap of making
one or more of these 5 common but dangerous mistakes:

1.  Buying the Wrong House.  If you don't buy at the right price, your
flip is doomed from the start.

2.  Underestimating Repair Costs. If you do not really know what your
rehab costs are going to be, you are rolling the dice with regards to
whether or not you will turn a profit.

3.  Becoming Emotionally Attached to Property.  Even though this seems
like common sense, I see this happen almost every day: someone becomes
emotionally attached to a house, ignores the numbers, and ends up losing his
shirt.

4.  Not Leaving a Cushion.  If you want to make 30k on a flip, then you need
to buy a house that you can make 40k on.  This leaves you a cushion of 10k
in case any unforeseen expenses come
up.

5.  Lack of Skills or Knowledge.  This is probably the #1 beginner mistake I see.
Only a fool attempts to flip a house without the guidance of someone who
has done it before.

I was fortunate enough to have a couple mentors to show me the ropes.  

If you know someone who has successfully flipped houses and is willing to mentor you, please use them.  Offer them a percentage of the profits.  It will be more than worth it.

Dave Clabeaux is Flipping Northern Kentucky

Dave Clabeaux, a seasoned real estate investor, is now flipping houses in Northern Kentucky.

Having recently relocated with his wife and son to Northern Kentucky, Dave Clabeaux has just started his first rehab project in the area.

A former high school English teacher, Dave got into rehabbing houses as a way to make extra money on the side.  He soon learned that he loved taking ugly houses and making them beautiful again.  “To me, this isn’t work,” said Clabeaux.  “You get to see tangible results for your efforts.  When you rehab houses you are improving your own community, while making a decent living for yourself.  And nothing beats the feeling of handing over the keys to the beautiful house you just created to a new family.”

Dave Clabeaux got his start in Tampa, Florida, where he was fortunate enough to find a mentor who helped teach him to flip houses. He invested in half a dozen properties in Tampa before he decided to pursue real estate investing full time.

In addition to rehabbing, Dave Clabeaux enjoys many aspects of real estate investing, including rehabbing, offering rental-to-own properties, and building a retirement portfolio by acquiring properties with no money down using owner financing.

Dave Clabeaux is also very passionate about teaching others how to build wealth through real estate.  He works one-on-one with clients across the country to help teach them how to rehab houses.  Through these relationships, he has successfully helped dozens of people flip their first house.

“Real estate investing helped me become financially independent, which feels amazing.  And I love sharing that with others and helping them to become financially independent as well’” said Clabeaux.  “The cool thing about rehabbing houses is that once you’ve done it once successfully, you can do it again and again in any city in the United States.  While it is not rocket science, there are a lot of moving parts, and you really have to know what you are doing.”

Dave Clabeaux plans to rehab 3-4 properties in the Northern Kentucky area this year, while continuing to mentor and help beginners complete their first successful flips.