Tag Archive for: fix and flips

How to Fund Your Fix and Flips FAST

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Flipping Homes is a Race—Is Your Money Stuck at the Starting Line?

Today we are going to discuss how to fund your fix and flips fast! Flipping homes is all about speed. The faster you get your project done and on the market, the more money you make. But if your cash flow isn’t ready when you need it, everything slows down.

The Biggest Problem: Cash Flow

Many investors believe that since the lender funds the deal, they shouldn’t run into money problems. But here’s the reality: lenders hold escrow funds for your repairs, and they only release money after the work is completed. That means you need money upfront to:

  • Pre-order materials like doors and windows.
  • Pay contractors so they can schedule and start work.
  • Cover costs for permits, architects, or engineers.

This creates a major issue. You need money to start the work, but the lender only gives you money once the work is done. So, how do you fix this?

The Solution: Get Your Money Bucket Ready

The best fix-and-flip investors don’t wait until closing to figure out how they’ll cover upfront costs. They plan ahead by having fast-access funds available. This doesn’t mean you need a huge bank account—just a plan for immediate access to cash when needed.

Where Can You Get Fast Money?

  • Business or personal lines of credit – Available cash when you need it.
  • Business credit cards – Use them strategically to cover upfront costs.
  • Private lenders or partners – Borrow short-term funds from other investors.
  • Savings reserves – If available, set aside cash before you start.

Real Investor Example: Flipping in 4 Weeks

One investor we work with flips homes in four weeks or less—even with major structural repairs. How? He has his money bucket ready. He pre-orders materials, pays contractors upfront, and moves through the project without waiting on lender disbursements. The result? More flips, more profits, and less stress.

The Cost of Not Being Ready

If you don’t have a plan for funding your upfront costs, delays pile up fast:

  • Lost time: Every extra month costs interest, taxes, and insurance.
  • Lost contractors: If you don’t pay them, they move on to other jobs.
  • Missed market opportunities: A project meant for peak selling season (May-July) could get delayed into winter, making it harder to sell.

What happens next? Investors who start without a plan often lose profits or even go into debt. We don’t want that to happen to you.

Get Ahead: Build Your Money Bucket Now

Investing is about learning before jumping in—not figuring it out as you go. The smartest investors set up their money bucket first. This includes:

✅ Having a plan for upfront costs. ✅ Knowing where your money will come from. ✅ Moving fast once the deal closes.

Even using short-term credit at 24-28% is often cheaper than missing deadlines, racking up interest payments, and losing months of potential profits.

Free Guide: Learn How to Fund Your Flips the Right Way

Want to set up your money bucket and avoid costly delays? Contact us today and Download our FREE ebook: Money Buckets for Investors and get step-by-step instructions on how to fund your fix and flips FAST.

Watch our most recent video to find out more about: How to Fund Your Fix and Flips FAST

Download free Money Bucket ebook: https://bit.ly/3EmqQiS

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The Hack That Keeps Your Fix and Flip Moving Without Delays

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Flipping Homes Is a Race—Don’t Let Money Hold You Back

Today we are going to discuss: The Hack That Keeps Your Fix and Flip Moving Without Delays. Fix-and-flip success comes down to speed. The faster you complete a project, the sooner you get paid. But what if your money is stuck at the starting line? Delays can eat away at profits, add stress, and even cause you to miss the best selling season. So, what’s really slowing you down?

The answer: cash flow.

You need money at the right time to keep your project moving. But even if you have a lender, their funding process can still hold you back. Let’s break it down and, more importantly, fix it.

Why Do Lenders Slow Down Fix-and-Flips?

You might think, “My lender has 100% of my money, so why should cash flow be an issue?” In theory, that sounds right. But in reality, lenders only release money when specific work is completed.

Understanding Escrows

  • Escrow funds are the money your lender sets aside for repairs.
  • Lenders don’t give you money upfront. They pay for completed work, not future work.
  • You must finish part of the project first before the lender releases more funds.

That’s where the problem starts. You need cash before work begins—to order materials, pay contractors, and get permits. But the lender won’t release funds until work is already done. So how do you keep the project moving?

The Key to Fix-and-Flip Speed: Your Money Bucket

The most successful investors have a strategy to avoid cash flow problems. They set up a Money Bucket—a pool of funds they can tap into whenever they need it.

How the Top Investors Keep Projects Moving:

  • Pre-fund expenses using available cash, credit lines, or other financing.
  • Pre-order materials like doors and windows to avoid supply delays.
  • Secure contractors by paying deposits and keeping them scheduled.
  • Cover upfront costs for permits, architects, and engineers.

Having quick access to money means you can start work immediately after closing, avoiding the typical delays that stretch a project from weeks to months.

Real Example: A Flipper Who Gets It Right

One of our investors consistently flips properties in under four weeks—even with structural repairs. How? He has his Money Bucket ready.

  • He pre-orders materials before closing.
  • He has a contractor lined up and paid to start immediately.
  • He uses a credit line to cover expenses until escrow funds kick in.

While others sit waiting for money, he’s already halfway through his project.

The Cost of Delays: Why You Can’t Afford to Wait

Every month your project stalls, you lose money.

  • Mortgage payments stack up.
  • Property taxes and insurance keep adding up.
  • Contractors move on to other jobs, pushing your timeline back even further.
  • Market conditions change, and you risk missing the best selling window.

For example, if your goal is to list a property in May but delays push it to November, you could see fewer buyers and lower offers—killing your profits.

How to Build Your Money Bucket

To keep your fix-and-flip moving fast, you need access to funds—before lender escrow payments arrive.

Ways to Fund Your Money Bucket:

  • Personal savings – Keep a reserve set aside.
  • Business credit lines – Use revolving credit to cover short-term gaps.
  • 0% intro APR credit cards – A great option if paid off quickly.
  • Private money – Borrow from trusted sources who understand your timeline.

Even if you put $10,000–$15,000 on a credit card at 24% interest, that’s still cheaper than carrying extra mortgage payments for months.

Take Action Now: Be Ready Before You Flip

Successful fix-and-flippers don’t wait until closing to figure out cash flow. They prepare in advance. Contact us today to find out more!

✅ Build your Money Bucket before you buy your next flip. ✅ Know your lender’s escrow process and how long draws take. ✅ Have funding sources ready so you never have to pause work.

Need help setting up your Money Bucket? Download our free guide below and learn exactly how to keep your fix-and-flip moving fast.

Download free Money Bucket ebook: https://bit.ly/3EmqQiS

Watch our most recent video to find out more about: The Hack That Keeps Your Fix and Flip Moving Without Delays

 

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Why Real Estate Investors Should Compare Lenders

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Why Real Estate Investors Should Compare Lenders

Today we are going to discuss why real estate investors should compare lenders. In the same way a house, a contractor, or a realtor, loans cost money as well. For this reason, by not finding the best loan, it can impact your bottom line. So, where do you start and how can you shop around for the right one? Let’s take a closer look!

 Understanding Loan Costs.

In a nutshell, loans can be complicated. However, when you break it down, it’s all about simple math. Here’s what you need to consider:

  • Interest Rates: How much you pay to borrow the money.
  • Loan Term: The length of time you’ll be paying back the loan.
  • Fees: These include origination fees, appraisal fees, inspection fees, and more.

Each of these factors affects the total cost of your loan.

Why Use a Loan Cost Optimizer?

A Loan Cost Optimizer helps you compare different loan scenarios. After entering details about your project, you can then see which loan costs you the least. Here’s how it works:

  1. Input Different Scenarios: Enter details like loan amount, interest rate, fees, and loan term.
  2. Compare Costs: See the total cost for each scenario.
  3. Find the Best Deal: Choose the loan that saves you the most money.

Examples

Let’s look at some examples to see how this works.

Example 1: Short-Term Fix and Flip

  • Loan Term: 3 months
  • Interest Rate: 8%
  • Fees: $2,000

Total Cost: $4,000

Example 2: Long-Term Renovation

  • Loan Term: 12 months
  • Interest Rate: 6%
  • Fees: $5,000

Total Cost: $11,000

With this in mind, even though the interest rate is lower in the long-term loan, the fees in addition to the longer term make it more expensive.

Conclusion

Since every project has unique needs, it is important that you find the best loan every time. Therefore, by using a Loan Cost Optimizer you can discover how to keep your costs low, and find the best loan as well. In fact, investors who take the time to understand and compare the total costs, will not only make smarter decisions but more importantly maximize their profits !

Ready to get started? Visit our website and try our Loan Cost Optimizer today! As a matter of fact, it’s free and easy to use. You don’t have to commit to anything, instead, just see how it works and find the best loan for your next project.

Watch our most recent video to find out more about: Why Real Estate Investors Should Compare Lenders.

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How to Unlock Your Rehab Funds from Your Lender

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How to Unlock Your Rehab Funds from Your Lender

Many real estate investors wonder how they can unlock their rehab funds from their lender. The answer is understanding their escrow. It is imperative that real estate investors understand escrow in order for their business to be successful. What is escrow? Escrow is a portion of the loan that a lending company puts aside for repairs on the property. You need to understand both the rules and the regulations of the lender in regards to Escrow prior to purchasing. In doing so, you will prevent frustration, avoid a finance wall, build a foundation for cash flow, save money, and save time!  Let’s take a closer look! 

1.Understand the rules YOUR escrow

As a real estate investor, you need to understand your escrow because the rules and regulations vary by lender. It is important that you have a firm understanding of their policies prior to purchasing. Any misunderstandings can very easily stall or even jeopardize a project. Investors also need to construct a budget beforehand in order to ensure that they stay within their budget during the process. Unfortunately, there is no flexibility in the amount after it is approved by the lender. Without the ability to expand the escrow down the road, any additional expenses will come out of your pocket instead.  

2.Unlocking your rehab funds

Lenders allocate a set amount for the escrow that not only includes the amount needed to purchase a property, but also the funds that are needed to fix it up. To clarify, these repairs are intended to get the property market ready. Keep in mind that the only way to access the escrow funds when buying a fix and flip, or an undervalued rental property, is to submit proof. This proof can be in the form of receipts, photos, and other documentation. It is important to send this information to your lender in a timely fashion in order to show that repairs are underway. 

3. Optimize your profits 

Optimize your profits today and avoid missing the market when it’s “hot” by considering all repair costs, setting money aside for repairs, and completing work quickly. Remember the longer you’re on hold, the more it will cost you and further delay paying your contractors. Those who understand the importance of a timeline and the cost can maximize their profit.

We are here to help! 

Want more information on real estate investment roadblocks or have any other questions? Contact us today!

Watch our most recent video to find out more about How to Unlock Your Rehab Funds from Your Lender

So, what are the other Major Roadblocks that cause burn out, financial hemorrhaging, and unfortunately defeat? 

Watch our full interview to discover more about the 5 Major Roadblocks

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Get Our Weekly Investor Mortgage Report

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Get Our Weekly Investor Mortgage Report

2024 is here! Now is the time to look at interest rate predictions and discuss the importance of the weekly investor mortgage report. I have been in finance a little over 35 years, and working with real estate investors for 24 years. While experience isn’t exactly a crystal ball, it does help guide your investment decisions, as well as identifying trends. Real estate investors saw a prediction come to life in October of 2023 when rates did improve. As we begin 2024, it is important that we follow the trends from Fannie Mae, NAR, and the Mortgage Brokers Association. Here at The Cash Flow Company we have created a Weekly Investor Mortgage Report. Let’s take a closer look at how things have changed and why you need to stay up to speed. 

How is the Fed affecting bank loans?

A lot of investors go to banks for rental loans or fix and flip loans. As rates drop, it will have a greater effect on investors because Fed funds affect prime. Fed funds are controlled by the Fed and dictate what banks can borrow from the Fed or other banks. The fed funds are currently at 5.25% to 5.5%. Banks then add 3 points to that in order to create their lending base number for short term loans or 1 to 2 year bridge loans. Some lenders even have a prime -1 or prime -2 for their real estate products, it just depends on the lender.  To clarify, prime, also known as the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate, is the most common benchmark that lenders use when setting their interest rates. 

What are basis points and how do they affect you?

There are predictions out there that the Fed might drop from 75 basis points, down to 200 basis points in the next year. What is a basis point? A basis point is the same as a percentage point. For example, for every 1% there are 100 basis points. So 50 basis points is equal to .5%. You will hear that a lot in the economic world. Just keep in mind that it’s a percentage of a point. As stated before, rates will be volatile in the upcoming year. It is important that you track the basis points along the way because they will make a big difference when you are trying to sell something. The basis point trends can be found on our weekly investor mortgage report and are available on our website. It will be updated weekly in order to make sure everyone is informed on current trends.

Keep an eye on DSCR.

Here at The Cash Flow Company we will be keeping a close eye on DSCR, as well as private mortgage loans. We will see how the rates are impacted by upcoming changes, and track the trends in our weekly mortgage reports. Just today we discovered that rates dropped .25 of a point across the DSCR lenders that we work with.Thankfully we are starting to see where rates are going back to the 7% range instead of 8%. This drop is great for investors! Every .25 of a point it drops, means there is more cash flow for you, as well as more opportunities to qualify for properties. The real estate world is going to open up again as rates keep dropping. We are working hard daily to make sure you get the best rates out there.

How will private rates be impacted?

The private money lenders borrow money from either banks or other institutions. A lot of their money is based on either the Fed funds or prime, then they add to that. The amount that they add on is the margin or profit they receive when lending out to someone else. Private rates were in the 7% range and 8% range. Today these percentages have increased to 11% and even 13% for some private lenders. This increase is affected a lot by prime, and prime is affected by the changes that the Fed makes. As rates drop, you should start to see the cost of private money loans on your flips, as well as the BRRRR’s come down as well. 

In conclusion.

2024 interest rate predictions have indicated that real estate investors will see a decrease this year! Here at The Cash Flow Company we have created a weekly mortgage report to keep you up to date on current changes and trends. While we don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, we can utilize trends and experiences to help guide us towards success.

Email us at info@thecashflowcompany.com to receive the weekly mortgage report updates or look for it on our website at www.thecashflowcompnay.com. This will go over some economic data, the best DSCR rate, and what current rates are for conventional so you don’t run the risk of overpaying. If you are going to be a real estate investor, then you need to know where financing is going. Not only for yourself, but for potential buyers as well. We are here to help! 

Many of our customers want to know what the rates would be for their situation, credit, or properties. We can put together a personal report for you. This can then be used for your portfolio, or for when you are buying a property. Contact us today to find out more!

Watch our most recent video to find out more about 2024 Interest Rate Predictions and the Investor Mortgage Report

 

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Fix and Flip Loan Basics: What Is ARV?

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When a lender decides your loan-to-value amount, what is ARV?

The first number to know in a fix and flip loan is called ARV, or after-repair value. This is the amount you could sell the property for after it’s been fixed up.

Why is this number so important? While loans on regular properties are based on the purchase price, fix and flip lenders loan based on the ARV.

For example, most fix and flip lenders in this market lend 70% of the ARV. As an example, on a property with an ARV of $200k, you could get $140k in your fix and flip loan (aka, 70% of $200k).

On a property that will be worth $500k after rehab, you could likely get a maximum of $350k on a fix and flip loan.

What Is ARV’s Other Requirements for Fix and Flip Loans

Generally, the loan you get is based on LTV. However, that doesn’t mean that’s the exact amount the lender is going to give you.

In a fix and flip, there are two major costs: the purchase price and the rehab costs. How much the property is and how much it will take to fix it up.

Your fix and flip loan will cover a certain percentage of these two costs.

For example, in this market, if you’re a seasoned investor, they’ll lend you 85% of the purchase and 100% of rehab. This means that with any project, you’ll have to find a way to fund a 15% down payment on the purchase. But the fix and flip loan will pay for all the rehab.

As a quick example, let’s look back at that $200k ARV house. The lender will give you 70% of that amount (so $140k), but they’re still restricting purchase to 85% and rehab to 100%.

So this example might play out like this:

  • ARV: $200k
  • Maximum LTV: $140k
  • Actual as-is purchase price: $120k
  • Rehab budget: $20k
  • Actual LTV for purchase: $102k
  • Actual LTV for rehab: $20k
  • Total actual LTV: $122k
  • Amount needed for down payment on purchase: $18k

Read the full article here.

Watch the video here:

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