No Money? No Problem. Here's How to Flip Houses with Little to No Capital

As a fix and flip investor, you already know having sufficient capital to complete a project is necessary. For investors with a lack of liquidity, allocating capital towards a project might mean selling off another one of your assets. Don’t let a lack of financing dictate your strategy, here’s how to flip houses with little to no capital.

Financing Options for Fix and Flips

Hard Money Lenders

A hard money lender is a type of lending company that offers short-term backed real estate loans. Unlike traditional lending institutions, hard money lenders offer short-term loans, but you can expect to pay a higher interest rate due to their short-term nature. Since these loans are for a short period of time, the rate will always be higher than an interest rate for a loan that lasts 15-30 years. Generally speaking, hard money lenders have different qualifications for their loans than traditional lenders. There are no universal guidelines for hard money lending, meaning there is more flexibility in your rate of approval, which can be an advantage for an investor with little or no capital.

Look into Wholesaling

Wholesaling properties is a great vehicle to kickstart your career in real estate for an investor who has restricted liquidity. This process involves finding properties for sale, getting them under contract, and then assigning the contract to another buyer. Wholesaling can enable investors to make a generous amount of money in a short time span when compared to other investments as profits are based on a percentage of the final sale. For those who do not have excess capital, wholesaling is one of the options you can choose before flipping houses.

Check with Private Lenders

Anyone with a good amount of capital and an interest in real estate can be deemed a private lender. A private lender can bring great advantages to the table when trying to invest into real estate with little to no capital, considering they can bypass federal regulations since they are not associated with any financial institution. Private lenders have the ability to make their own rules, meaning they can also make their own fees. Although working with a private lender can come with its advantages, they have the ability to request large fees at their own discretion. For some investors, the higher fees are offset by the fast funding a private lender provides, considering they have capital available immediately unlike a financial institution that needs much more time for approval.

Seller Financing

Rather than going through a traditional lender, seller financing allows an investor to work directly with the seller of a property to secure funding. This can be attractive for an investor who has a lack of liquidity since seller financing has more flexibility regarding approval terms and the payment schedule. There is more room to negotiate approval terms if you cannot afford a large down payment or if you have unfavorable credit history, making seller financing a viable option for first time investors looking to gain leverage in the market.

Crowdfunding

Another way to secure financing to flip a house is through crowdfunding. Crowdfunding involves tapping into a network of real estate investors and pooling their money together to acquire enough funding to fix and flip a property. Not only will you expand your network in the real estate market, you might also open up bigger opportunities for yourself by regularly getting invited to real estate events and clubs. You never know where you will find an opportunity in the market, and crowdfunding is a way to secure financing for a property while getting you more experience in real estate and potentially opening up profitable opportunities.

RCN Capital

RCN Capital offers short-term and long-term financing options for real estate investors. Whether you are looking to fix & flip properties or hold properties for rental income, RCN has flexible options that are suited to your needs. Connect with us today to discuss your next real estate investment.