How to flip a house in Stark County for profit

July 23--When a homeowner in East Canton died and Medicaid placed a lien on the property, Ryan Berry didn't see a problem.

He saw opportunity.

Berry's title company worked with the estate's attorney to settle the lien for about $1,200, but Berry had to agree to cover that amount.

Berry bought the house for $82,000 in March, spent about $20,000 to fix it up over a month with a repainting, a new floor, new fixtures and new appliances and then another $10,000 on closing costs and realtor costs.

He sold it earlier this month for $137,500, a profit of roughly $24,300.

Berry is a flipper, real estate investors buy homes as is, fixes them up and then sells them at a profit in a hot housing marke,t where buyers are paying a premium for move-in ready homes.

Upgrading assets

Green resident Steve Lake is a 64-year-old widower who moved back to Ohio after several years in Florida. He recently became a real estate investor because it allowed him to have more control over his schedule. He said he's bought three homes and sold two.

He said the advantage he offers to buyers -- over owner-occupied -- is he can ensure the home is ready immediately.

"Everything has been thoroughly remodeled: maybe new floors, a furnace, maybe (new) hot water, an a/c (air conditioning). I try to get everything to a top standard in the home before I sell it."

Berry said he decided to go into real estate investing about five years ago. His business, Global Real Estate Solutions, is based in North Canton.

Often through word-of-mouth but also through online listings, Berry looks for situations where people are eager to unload their homes with minimal hassle.

"We step in, and we can usually buy a house for cash in seven to 14 days," said Berry. "We're an option for someone looking for a quick cash sale, whether they're moving or going into assisted living."

Berry said he tends to keep properties in Canton as rentals.

But he also hires contractors to fix up the homes in the highly sought school districts: Jackson Local, Plain Local, North Canton City, Green Local and Perry Local.

Berry said he bought about 35 residential units last year, of which he kept 15 as rentals and sold 20. This year, he anticipates he will buy about 50 homes.

Negotiations

Berry said he recently took a home on Royce Court NW in Lake Township off the hands of a homeowner facing foreclosure for roughly $111,000. He helped that person work out a short sale -- where more is owed on the home than it is worth -- with a lender. Berry's contractors rehabilitated it over a four-month period. The kitchen was completely remodeling. The bathrooms got new showers, tiles and granite. They repainted the house, installed new carpet and put in landscaping. His total cost: $155,000 including closing costs.

His real estate agent Dominic Fonte listed the property around Easter for $197,700, and Berry said 28 prospective buyers immediately requested showings. Within three days, Berry said he had three offers. He sold the home for $209,900.

Lake, the new real estate investor, said so far he's bought mainly properties in Summit County. But he is eying homes in the Stark County market.

He said he picked up a condo in Cuyahoga Falls for about $1,000 at a Summit County Sheriff's sale in December. However, he had to cover delinquent property taxes, which increased the cost to $16,000. He said he spent about $12,000 to improve it over a three-month period and sold the condo for $70,000 in April.

Lake said he bought out a contract for a home on Raber Road in Green that a relative had been unable to make the payments on for about $48,000. He spent about $15,000 to improve the home and he sold it to a woman for $109,000, after listing it for $114,000. It took 16 days to sell the home.

He's currently working to improve another home in Green, a three bedroom, 1,200 square-foot home on 1.7 acres, he bought for $59,000.

"Green is a hot area," said Lake, a native of Springfield Township. "Actually, most of the areas I've been dealing with are fairly hot areas. It doesn't seem to take properties long to move, as long as you don't get stupid as to what you're asking for."

Reach Repository writer Robert Wang at (330) 580-8327 or [email protected].

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