This is episode number 2197. Jill and I are talking about how long does it take to flip a property in 2025? What are the effects? What are the changes that are happening? We have such a ton of property on the market, we have so much property on the market and it’s a buyer’s market, and we’re buyers. How long does it really take to do a deal? Each episode, we answer a question from our Land Academy Member Discord Forum and take a deep dive into land related topics by your request.

Brent wrote, “Two due diligence questions. One general due diligence question and one for funding partners. When collecting sold and active for sale comps to validate your price, estimate a sales price, and test for supply and demand, it would seem that you’d want to get comps as close to the target property as possible, i.e., within 4 to 5 miles, versus using data from the entire zip code, which is the best approach.”

“In a perfect world, the rule of quarters, Jack teaches in the training is a way we price our acquisitions and we’ll get the purchase agreements with this cheap pricing. However, I’m finding that a significant percent of deals coming in are between 40% and 50% of the target sales price. Clearly, the goal is to acquire as low as possible, but am I off base to establish a minimum ROI of threshold of two times the acquisition price? I hope that makes sense.”

Pricing & Acquisition Criteria Discipline

We have two choices here. Number one, if you are getting properties back at 40% or 50% of retail or your target sale price, there’s only one thing that you can change, and that is how much mail you’re sending out. If it takes you 3,000 or 4,000 letters to get those numbers, then send out 6,000, 7,000, 8,000. You’ve proven that this works to yourself. We all know it works. You need more mail or you need to diversify where you’re sending it and to whom you’re sending it.

Do you think that maybe Brent needs some more little testing for reason and rocking some of the prices back too?

Yeah, I agree with you, or you’re sending the mail out too high of a number. It could be pricing it too high, which is usually the case. Jill’s right. That’s probably what’s going on. The second point here is, should I just accept it? What you’re saying is, “Should I just buy it at a higher price, 40% to 50% of my target, target sales price? No. Jill’s reaction I agree with. She’s shaking her head violently.

Especially now. Not now at all. I talked to somebody about this. They’re like, “Wait a minute, Jill. You and I just looked at this together. Based on what you’re just telling me right now, it sounds like, I even go like 10% to 15% in this area.” I said, “That’s exactly what you do.”

People who fail at this in general as a real estate investor, they all will have a story like this. “I sent a mailer out or my dad and I went and bought a house down the street that we converted into a rental. I’m no longer in business.” “Why?” “I got a deal back on the mailer and it was a little bit more than I wanted to spend, but I bought it anyway.”

Yeah, because it didn’t fit your acquisition criteria. Jill, at this age, is just crazy militant about making sure the property that we buy, all types of real estate fit the acquisition criteria. If it doesn’t, next property, next phone call, next seller. My job is to make sure that there is a next seller, there is a next property, and that she’s 30 deep in returning phone calls and then we do great. Do not compromise on the quality of the product that you’re buying or the price. When you’re not getting what you want, just send more mail out.

Do not compromise on the quality of the property you're buying or the price. If you're not getting what you want, just send out more mail. Share on X

This just ties into abundance, what you just said. You brought up my age and my experience, and we could roll in there my bank account. I’m not going to die because I don’t do a deal or that deal. If I don’t do a lock in a deal today or this week, I’m not going to die. We’re going to have food on the table. I do think that scares some people. I do think if you don’t have enough deal flow, you worry about that, so you start making not good decisions.

You’re right. I am more militant about it even now. I don’t think of it like that way. You, you, because you might say, “Jill, you can be.” I’m telling you, you should be that way too. Not just me, you need to be this way. If anything, you need to be like me, too, because I want you to make those really amazing decisions and if you are not feeling that good about it, then you need to up your mail. It’s going to cost you some money. Who flipping cares? It’s going to work out, I promise.

In the case of the son and the dad buying the house down the street to rent it out, they didn’t have an acquisition criteria. They made an emotional decision because it was down the street.

They knew the house or whatever.

It’s certifiably crazy. Yeah. That is falling on a sword in your investment real estate investment career.

I haven’t had that in a while, but that used to be a thing. I remember when we first launched Land Academy years ago, I remember doing calls with people who said, “I think I got a great deal here.” I’m like, “Tell me about it.” “Okay, so it’s my brother-in-law’s cousin’s boss.” I’m like, “Here we go.”

It still happens to me. “I got a deal for you, Steve.”

They’re like, “It’s off market. It’s amazing.” I’m like, “Hold on a moment. Everybody just stop right there.” That hasn’t happened in a while, but it’s funny. What would happen every time is I’d give them a number and then I never hear from them again. Actually, I wouldn’t even give them a number, honestly, because those people think that the ship is coming in and they’re like, “Yay.”

I had somebody bring me a deal. Jill and I live in Scottsdale, Arizona, during the cool season. We’re snowbirds. It didn’t start out like that. We know a lot of people who are coming in here and then they leave. This older couple came in from, I think, Minnesota or Wisconsin, and they said, “My parents died over this last season and I inherited a creamery in the little town that we live in. Attached to it are these really cool buildings. My dad’s owned this thing for as long as I could remember.”

I said, “Awesome. What’s it worth?” “I don’t know. What should I do with it?” “How many square feet is it?” “I don’t know.” No questions he could answer. He was just excited that he owns a creamery. I said, “I think you should keep it and give it to your kids.” He said, “That’s what I think too.” I can speak for Jill. That is our nightmare real estate. That’s the reason I’m not a licensed real estate agent, by the way. I can’t take that stuff.

I would fire everyone. No. “Won’t you list my property?” “Not if I have to work with you.”  Here’s what would be my other thing. Every person I’d be like on the phone going, “Do you want to sell it or not? I just brought you three good offers. You either take them or I’m dropping you.”

You need to make those really amazing decisions, and if you’re not feeling good about it, then you need to send more mail. It’s going to cost you some money—who flipping cares? It’s going to work out. Share on X

If you’re a licensed real estate agent right now, you’re in your car, you’re laughing because your life is like that. Your life is babysitting. It’s not about doing real estate deals.

Can you imagine? No, I’m going to do that. I have some agents that I love. They’re like friends. I’m going to go, “No, I just didn’t like their name.”

“Their name’s Joyce? I don’t do good deals with Joyce’s.”

“No, their names sounded like they’re from, I don’t know, Italy. I got enough Italians in my world because of Jack, so I don’t really want to sell to another Italian.” Could you imagine?

That’s a felony, I think.

I know. That, too, but could you imagine if I came up with something so stupid like that, just something dumb? “I didn’t like the car they rolled up in.”

They have a German car. I don’t want to sell to them. I only do deals with Japanese car people.”

Somebody might do that now, anyway. That’s so funny.

How long does it take to flip a property in mid-2025?

How Long It Should Take To Sell A Property

Hopefully it takes a less time than it took us to get to the topic.

If you are buying a property and you believe that it’s going to take longer than 30 days to sell, you should not be buying it.

If you’re buying a property and believe it will take longer than 30 days to sell, you shouldn’t be buying it. Share on X

I like it.

That’s in our acquisition criteria. If you have a property that is taking longer than 30 days to sell, you need to do 1 of 2 things or both. Lower the price, get it below the break point right now. Two, change what it looks like on the internet. Send out neighbor mailers. Get excited about your own deal in the neighbor letter and on the internet. “I have to let this go. I’ve owned it for too long. I’m a land investor. This is the black swan of my portfolio. My loss is your gain. Please buy this property. Take off my hands. I’m selling it at a loss.” You’ll sell it very quickly. Thirty days. Shortest topic ever, Jill.

You did fantastic.

Join us next time where we discussed the profile of a perfect land and house flip in 2025. You are not alone in your real estate ambition. We are Jack and Jill. Information and inspiration to buy undervalued property.