Reality television shows documenting the house flipping business have become more popular in the recent years despite the pitfalls in flipping houses. Fortune Builders, owned by Than Merrill of "Flip the House" Connecticut Team, even hosted seminars to discuss how to flip houses, stopping by at Anne Arundel last week.
Capital Gazette reported that Merrill's Seminar was attended by about 35 Anne Arundel Residents in Linthicum last Thursday. The seminar was facilitated by Robbie Law, who shared that he attended the same free event four years ago and now runs a flipping business. The seminar event teaches the basics of real estate investing, finding properties, and how the "Flip the House" team rehabs the houses.
Merrill said that the most important thing that everyone should know about real estate investing is that there are opportunities as well as risks, and it requires a lot of capital.
He also shared that the people who come to their event realize that it requires a lot of work. But he said that, "It's a lot more expensive to make a mistake in real estate than to get an education in real estate."
Rick Rall, president-elect of Anne Arundel County Association of Realtors, said that the county is a good area for flipping houses but a competitive one.
Rall also stressed that people who watch house flipping shows and try to get into the real estate business without any background knowledge or experience "tends to burn the most."
Chris Maio, a resident of Riva, shared his house flipping experience. After a year and $120,000 of spending, the house that he bought for $295,000 in 2013 was sold for $469,000. He claims to have made about $20,000 in profit.
Maio said that he could have worked in McDonalds and made more. He also added that "too many people watch these flipping shows."
