Aligning Your Values to Your Next Flip

When buying a home to flip, it's crucial to align this decision with your moral compass, brand identity, and long-term goals. Your moral compass guides ethical considerations, ensuring that the property you choose and the way you handle the renovation process reflect your values. For instance, consider the impact on the community, the fairness of the pricing, and the integrity of the renovations.

Brand identity is equally important, especially if you plan to flip multiple properties. Your brand should represent quality, reliability, and perhaps even a specific style or niche. Selecting properties that align with this identity will help build a reputation that attracts buyers who trust your work.

Finally, your goals—both financial and personal—should be a guiding force. Whether you’re aiming for short-term profits, long-term investment returns, or the satisfaction of revitalizing a neighborhood, your choice of property should support these objectives. Consider the potential return on investment, the time and resources required, and how the project fits into your broader life and business plans.

Balancing these elements ensures that each flip not only meets your financial targets but also upholds your principles and reinforces your brand’s reputation in the market.

We recently put an offer on a home that, after an initial title search, appeared to be owned by a bank. Our attorney later discovered that the owner was actually the family of a person who committed a horrific mass shooting in our community. After a day of consideration, we canceled the deal. For us, this was the exact right choice, and we both felt enormously relieved. 

Interestingly, many people's reaction to this story has been, "What's the big deal? Somebody is going to flip it eventually, and probably make a big profit." While that may be true, this particular home had such darkness associated with it that I could not find any way to align my moral compass with the project.