This blog post title might sound like a discussion an older responsible relative wants to have with you about what a gamble house flipping is – a relative that knows nothing about flipping! Professional flipping is NOT gambling – if it seems so to you, either you have more to learn, or else flipping is not the right investment strategy for you.

My definition of “amateur flipping” – aka “gambling”, as I see it – is buying a property in a rising local market in hopes the property will go up in price to sell for a profit, regardless of what the investor does with it in the meantime.

The problem is that there are a hundred reasons why one particular property doesn’t keep up with the market, from internal flaws to changing buyer preferences, from awkward location to poor marketing. Individual properties don’t move in lock step with market prices, as a share of stock does with all the other shares of the same class from the same company.

“Professional flipping” is a different game altogether. How do pro flippers lock in profits?They take speculation out of the equation by adding value to a propertythrough repairs and improvements, thereby revitalizing neighborhoods. Pro flippers leave behind them houses that are better than they found them. Neighborhoods that have seen better days are often prime opportunities for pro flippers, because they can restore past glories and help bring back the character and appeal of an aging neighborhood.

One of the strongest talents of pro flippers is the ability to make money in any market, rising, stagnant or falling. The recent hard economic times and sustained period of plummeting home values were one of the most profitable periods for many flippers.

It is not uncommon for communities, town and cities to actually encourage flippers into certain markets to improve neighborhoods and raise the average standard of living. Because pro flippers seek profits through improving houses, not by speculating on the timing of market trends, they can help attract stable families into improving neighborhoods.

Professional flippers take control of their destiny rather than leaving it to the winds of market changes. I encourage my investors to avoid gambling, and pursue the strategy of ethical, thoughtful professional flipping instead.