Recently, a blog on our work at Illinois Avenue caught our eye, and we posted this response (You can read the original at Concrete Jungle). Our response is listed here:
“Thanks for your post. We are always happy to clarify our business.
Couple of things. First, it’s easy to take the hard numbers at the beginning and end of a transaction and question the spread and the profit – particularly if one wants to question the profit makers. It is true express Homebuyers purchased the Illinois Avenue property shown here for $150,000, a price we determined after investigating the overall condition of the property, and what it would take to renovate it to our standards—which are top-of-the-market.
In terms of this property, we judged the total cost to renovate it to our standards could be well over $125 to $150 thousand dollars. Just this alone would justify a price equal to similar properties in the neighborhood. Atop our costs of renovation we have to add marketing, listing, commission for agents and a host of other small costs that whittle away the remaining margin.
Finally, the $374,955 is the asking price. It would be ideal if it sells for that, but like all other properties, our listed price survives or dies at the very real hands of the market.
Secondly, we don’t necessarily favor the term “flipping” when it comes to our work. House flippers notoriously buy properties cheap, perform minimal—if any –repair, and try to sell the property as quickly as they can. Our mission remains to add value to all the properties we sell and, in the process, help the individuals who need to sell their properties get a quick solution.
Harold, Express Homebuyers”