INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - At a home in the 6200 block of Eastridge on the east side of Indianapolis, Chris Moore is showing his latest flip.
"This practically fell into my lap," Moore said. "It was built in 1920. Two bedroom, one bath; a little less than 1,000 square feet."
The home had some big challenges when Moore bought it.
"The cement was all cracked and the steps weren't even up to code," said Moore.
He brought in contractors and went to work. Crews painted the house, refinished the hardwood floors and spent time improving the bathroom and kitchen.
"We put all-new cabinets, all-new plumbing, a new microwave, and a new range," Moore said.
The home is now flipped, fresh, restored and ready.
"This is replacement hardware so it works. So, it still has the feeling of the period," said Moore. "We bought it for $33,500. We put in $22,000 into it. We're looking to sell it for $64,900," Moore explained.
That's how "flipping" works.
"You buy low. You get some guys to fix it. And, then you sell it," said Moore.
According to the latest study from ATTOM Data Solutions, the median purchase price in Marion County in the 2nd quarter of 2017 was $94,801. The "flipped" price was $140,980. The average profit was $46,180.
"People who are doing 3, 4, 5 flips at a time, are making six figures in general. Then, there are people more like myself, who are a little bit more involved in the day-to-day, getting involved in the details of the flip. The money there is under six figures," said Moore.
While Moore purchased this home from a wholesaler, his last four homes came from clearing houses on Auction.com or Hubzu.com, which banks use to dump foreclosures. That's becoming the new trend in home "flipping." According to ATTOM Data Solutions, 61 percent of "home flips" in Indiana during the 2nd quarter of 2017 were purchased as foreclosures or bank-owned properties.
That's the highest share in the U.S.
"Indiana foreclosure activity surged in the fourth quarter of 2016, hitting a 23-month high in December. This provided additional inventory for home flippers to purchase at a discount, and now about six months later we are starting to see some of those properties being sold by the flippers. Additionally Indiana is in the top 15 states in terms of total foreclosure inventory, providing more opportunity for investors to purchase foreclosures and flip them," said a spokesman for ATTOM Data Solutions.
Moore says the central Indiana real estate market is super competitive.
"The market is very hot for real estate, so it's hard to find new properties and that's the challenge we have as rehabbers is how to find the next flip," said Moore. "We found many people have moved from out of state. We've met quite a few people who are rehabbing and working in the investment field from California and Texas. If you look in the publications, you'll find Indianapolis in one of the top locations in the country for investors - both for people looking to rent and people looking to rehab."
Another challenge for "flippers" is finding good contractors.
"They can come in, promise you the moon and then not show up. They can come in, start doing some work and then leave for two- to three weeks," said Moore.
Moore considers himself a "rehabber." He buys a home and brings it back to life.
"We invest in the house. We invest in the community to take a house that's below the average of the community to move it up to where it's average or even better," said Moore. "It's a lot of fun to see property that has been run down, forgotten and discarded come back to life and have a family or individual and take that space and use it for themselves and the future."
Now, he is waiting for someone to buy this house on Eastridge so he can get going on the next one.
