Bonus Blog Submission - Kellie A. Brooks

House Flippers, Once Booming, Now Hurting As Well

In today’s economy, every aspect of the real estate industry is struggling. Eric Holbert, is no exception. His house flipping company has taken a dramatic hit in this recession.

“The economy has affected my business tremendously. It is very slow and unpredictable”, Holbert said.

House flipping is purchasing a house or property then selling it for a profit. Most of the properties require some type of remodeling before it can be put back onto the market for resell.

In today’s economy, few people are buying homes let alone refurbishing and reselling them. Holbert’s company, Holbert Custom Services, is one of many that are struggling to stay afloat. In his business, he sells homes to low income families, becoming their landlord. The government pays a portion of the rent and the families pay the balance. These families, already struggling before the recession, are hurting even more.

“My tenants are having trouble keeping their jobs, and they are having trouble paying rent at the same time.” He said.

So how is his company surviving? He has cutback on purchasing additional homes, opted for cheaper fixtures, and he budgeted his personal money in case his tenants aren’t able to pay their part of the rent.

Holbert mainly works in the Fort Worth area.

“The area that I work in is poverty ridden.”

In this industry some people take advantage of low income families, Holbert said. So he does his part to help families in need. Although tenants might struggle making their payments, he chooses these homes because they’re cheap and easier to fix up.

“Real estate has always interested me and I have always thought I could get wealthy from it”, Holbert said.

He looks for homes that are run down, condemned, and not of interest to most realtors or buyers. After Holbert and his team make the improvements, the once dilapidated homes are appealing.

“I look for a house that’s really in bad shape. Then I put a vision of what it can look like and I make it happen.” He said.

The recession will not last forever. So Holbert is trying to position his company to weather the downturn and become profitable again.

“It will improve because we have a great president. I think he is a lot more intelligent than the last president. He understands what it is to be down.”