Flip or Flop

Tarek and Christina check out a short sale that's listed at $214,900, discounted a full 50% from the $430K currently owed on the house! Short sales can be great opportunities for house flippers because banks would rather take a loss on a house than foreclosing and having to sell it themselves. This house is a large 4 bedroom with a pool that appears to just need a facelift, and with comps in the area between $230,000 and $280,000, Tarek and Christina make an offer, which is accepted, for $200,000. They get a $30,000 bid from their contractor to update the kitchen, bathrooms, master closet and the pool, bringing them right to the lower end of their comps. But when they realize a back addition is unpermitted, the added costs may erase their profits, potentially leaving the facelift they planned on giving the house covered with red ink!