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Fix & Flip Investing

The money in a flip is made on the buy, not the sale. Pure Equity helps South Florida investors find distressed deals, run the numbers before they offer, and move fast when a real opportunity appears.

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HomeFix & Flip

The Rule

Never pay over 70 percent of ARV minus rehab

Deal Flow

Distressed, bank-owned, and off-market inventory

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Fix & Flip / BRRRR deal calculator

Fix & Flip in South Florida

Flipping houses in South Florida the numbers-first way

Flipping looks simple on television and is unforgiving in real life. The investors who profit consistently are not the ones with the best taste in tile, they are the ones who buy right, budget the rehab honestly, and sell before carrying costs eat the margin. In a market like South Florida, where insurance, permitting, and labor all move the math, discipline on the front end is everything.

Pure Equity works with flippers and BRRRR investors across the region. We surface distressed, bank-owned, and off-market properties, help you stress-test a deal before you make an offer, and connect you with the lenders, contractors, and title support that keep a project moving. If the numbers do not work, we will tell you, because the fastest way to lose money is to talk yourself into a bad deal.

The 70 percent rule and ARV

The baseline formula for a flip is simple: do not pay more than 70 percent of the after-repair value minus your rehab costs. The after-repair value, or ARV, is what the finished home will realistically sell for based on recent comparable sales, not on hope. Get either number wrong and the whole deal tilts. We help you pull honest comps and pressure-test the ARV, and our Fix & Flip / BRRRR calculator runs the 70 percent rule, profit, and holding costs in seconds so you can screen more deals and offer with confidence.

Finding deals worth doing

Profit lives in inventory that most buyers avoid. Foreclosures, bank-owned homes, short sales, auctions, tired rentals, and estate and probate sales are where flip margins hide. Much of it never looks pretty in photos and some never hits the public sites at all. We watch the distressed segment across South Florida and bring you properties where the discount is real, not just cosmetic, and we help you separate a genuine opportunity from a money pit before you commit.

Budgeting the rehab and the timeline

The rehab budget is where optimism goes to die. Get firm contractor bids rather than guesses, pad for the surprises that always appear once walls open, and remember that Florida permitting and inspections take time and that older homes can hide roof, electrical, and moisture issues. Every month you hold the property, taxes, insurance, interest, and utilities keep running, so a realistic timeline is part of the budget, not an afterthought.

Financing and the BRRRR strategy

Most flips are funded with hard money or private capital rather than a conventional mortgage, priced for speed and short terms. If your plan is to keep the property instead of selling, the BRRRR strategy (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) changes the math, because what matters is whether the appraised value lets you pull most of your capital back out on the refinance. Our calculator models both paths, and we help you line up financing that fits the strategy you are actually running.

Permits, licensing, and the work you may legally do

Florida regulates construction trades, and structural, electrical, plumbing, roofing and mechanical work generally has to be done by an appropriately licensed contractor and permitted through the local building department. There is an owner-builder route in some circumstances, but it carries real responsibility and it is not a way around licensing for work you intend to sell. The reason this matters commercially rather than just legally is resale. Unpermitted work discovered during a buyer's inspection can affect their financing, their insurance and their willingness to close at all, and closing open permits after the fact is slower and more expensive than pulling them at the start. Budget the permit timeline into your holding period.

How the profit is actually taxed

This is the part that surprises first-time flippers, and it can change the arithmetic of a whole project. Buying property with the intention of reselling it is treated very differently from holding an investment, and profit from that activity can be treated as ordinary business income rather than as a capital gain, with self-employment considerations on top and deferral tools that apply to investment property not being available. The distinction turns on facts such as intent, frequency and how you hold the property. Nothing here is tax advice and the answer depends on your circumstances, so build the tax treatment into your numbers with a CPA before the first project rather than discovering it at filing.

Insuring a property you are renovating

A standard homeowners policy is written for an occupied home, and a vacant property under renovation is neither of those things. Insurers commonly exclude or limit coverage on vacant properties, which means a fire or a storm during your hold period could land entirely on you. What you usually need is a builder's risk or vacant property policy for the duration of the work. Arrange it before you take possession, not after the first weekend, and tell the insurer honestly what the property is and what you plan to do to it. In this state, hurricane season is part of the holding period rather than a hypothetical.

Related Resources

Fix & Flip Calculator How to Flip a House Fix & Flip Blog Foreclosures Investment Properties Rental ROI Calculator

Primary sources: Florida contractor licensing (DBPR). Program rules and eligibility change, so confirm current requirements directly.

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Questions

Fix & flip: frequently asked questions

What is the 70 percent rule in house flipping?

It is the baseline screen most flippers use: never pay more than 70 percent of the after-repair value minus your estimated rehab costs. The idea is to bake in a margin that survives surprises, holding costs, and selling expenses. It is a starting filter, not a guarantee, and experienced investors bend it in strong markets or for light rehabs. Our Fix & Flip / BRRRR calculator applies it to any property in seconds.

How do I find flip deals in South Florida?

The margin usually lives in distressed inventory: foreclosures, bank-owned homes, short sales, auctions, and estate or probate sales, plus off-market properties that never reach the public sites. We track the distressed segment across the region and bring you properties where the discount is genuine. Just as important, we help you avoid the deals where the low price reflects problems that will erase your profit.

How much money do I need to start flipping?

Less than the full purchase price, because most flips use hard money or private lending that covers a large share of the purchase and often part of the rehab. You still need cash for the down payment, points, carrying costs, and a reserve for overruns. The exact figure depends on the deal size and your lender, and we help you model it before you commit so you are not caught short mid-project.

What is the BRRRR strategy?

BRRRR stands for buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. Instead of selling the finished home, you rent it and refinance based on the new appraised value, ideally pulling most of your invested capital back out to fund the next deal. It builds a rental portfolio rather than one-time profits. The key number is the refinance appraisal, and our calculator models whether a BRRRR deal lets you recover your capital.

Do I need permits to renovate a flip in Florida?

Most structural, electrical, plumbing, roofing, and HVAC work requires permits and inspections, and skipping them can stall or kill a sale when the buyer's inspector or lender catches unpermitted work. Timelines vary by county and city. We factor permitting into the rehab schedule and connect you with licensed contractors who pull the right permits, so the finished home sells cleanly.

Can I do the renovation work myself on a Florida flip?

Some of it, and less than people assume. Florida regulates construction trades, and structural, electrical, plumbing, roofing and mechanical work generally requires an appropriately licensed contractor and a permit. An owner-builder route exists in some circumstances but carries real responsibility. Check with the local building department for your specific scope before you start, because unpermitted work causes far more trouble at resale than it saves during the project.

Is flipping profit taxed as capital gains?

Often not, and this is worth understanding before your first project. Buying with the intention to resell can be treated as a business activity rather than as an investment, which changes the character of the profit and can bring self-employment considerations with it. The distinction depends on facts including intent and frequency. Talk to a CPA while you are still modeling the deal rather than at tax time.

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