Michelle Vega is a seasoned Realtor, there’s no doubt about that. Her story is one of dedication and perseverance, and her will to win is doubtless what has put her at the top of the charts as a star real estate agent.
She started working as a young girl in a flower shop in Jersey, and quickly learned how to turn herself into a business woman. Throughout high school, she worked part time jobs as well as taking classes, and was determined to save up enough money to begin her journey as an entrepreneur as soon as she possibly could.
Although she seemed to face an unending barrage of obstacles, she pushed past them, achieved her goal of becoming a Realtor, and immediately made a name for herself in the real estate world.
But this wasn’t enough for Michelle. She could see opportunities in real estate that surpassed the transactional part of it all. She understood the potential for investment. But Michelle had no experience in this area, and wasn’t sure where to begin. However, in true Michelle Vega fashion, she did it anyway. She took a leap, purchased an investment property, and began to learn.
Fast forward only a few years, and Michelle is not only a seasoned Realtor, but is also a prolific force in the real estate investment world. Although she is involved in rental properties and sales, her focus is now on flipping homes.
Michelle, who is now flipping up to ten houses simultaneously, remembers what it was like to start out in business, and enjoys sharing her methods with those who are interested in stepping out onto this life changing path.
Michelle Vega’s top tips for flipping homes with no experience:
- Get experience by working with someone with experience! Before you purchase a project, be sure to run through it with a Realtor who is also an investor. Any Realtor can help you buy and sell, but not every Realtor can advise you properly regarding flipping. There’s nothing wrong with interviewing several agents before deciding who to work with. These are large investments, so be sure you’re working with someone you can trust.
- All lenders are not the same! Just like you interviewed Realtors, interview your lenders. Talk to multiple different institutions, but don’t decide on anyone specific until you have your project. You will have a rough idea of who is out there, and what they are willing to do for you, but, until you have a specific project, you shouldn’t settle.
- Find your project, but go over your numbers before you buy. This includes talking to contractors, Realtors, and lenders. What sort of work will be beneficial to your property? What materials will cost more, but add nothing to the resale value? These are things your contractor and Realtor can help with, and are also huge factors in regards to the cost of rehabilitation. Once you know how much you will need to spend, your lender will be better able to advise you financially.
- If possible, find a contractor who can do the majority of the work. If you have some construction knowledge and enough time to hunt down individual subcontractors, then it’s possible to save some money. Just be aware that things can get messy, and if you’re dealing with several different contractors simultaneously, other issues may arise. Some of these headaches can be avoided by hiring a single contractor who is able to take care of all the different moving parts of a project.
- Just do it! No risk, no reward. It’s natural to be afraid to drop tens of thousands of dollars into a property in the hopes that it will be worth more later. But there are options. If you don’t have any savings to put into it, there are many lenders who can help with loans for the entire project. You might make a little less of a profit because of interest and institution fees, but any profit is good profit. This means that anyone can invest in house flipping! If you wait until you’ve saved up enough money to run through the whole process, you’ll be sitting there for a decade talking about investments that may or may not happen, while those who simply took the risk and jumped in will have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in that time. Don’t be afraid, anyone can do it!
- Be prepared to come across things you’re not prepared for. Unexpected things will happen, problems will arise, it’s all normal. It may not be easy, but it will be rewarding.
- If you want to make serious financial gains in real estate investments, then one property is not enough. Start small, get your feet wet and gain some experience. Once you’ve completed your first flip, take a moment and count your profits, smile widely, kiss the cash goodbye and put it into another property, then repeat the process. It won’t be long before you get a system going and find a team you love to work with, and you’ll be able to manage more than one property at a time. Build that portfolio until it’s bursting, and the sky is the limit! I started with one home, then moved on to a couple, until I landed a project of 60 homes all in the same neighbourhood! The possibilities are endless, it just starts with one.