Flipping Houses In Montana

How To Flip Houses In Montana

November 22, 2023

Produced by:
Richard Stevens

Richard Stevens is an active real estate investor with over 8 years of industry experience. He specializes in researching topics that appeal to real estate investors and building calculators that can help property investors understand the expected costs and returns when executing real estate deals.

Despite having a relatively small population size, Montana presents an interesting set of opportunities and challenges for house flippers. While there aren’t a huge number of potential houses to flip, it’s pretty clear that if you do find the right house, the rewards can be plentiful. 

The median revenue per flip ($162,340) is considerably higher than most US States. This should spark interest from first time flippers and their more experienced counterparts. Provided you stick to your budget and focus on good quality renovations, there is money to be made flipping houses in Montana.

Montana House Flipping Stats

Median Purchase Price

$162,780

Median Resale Price

$325,120

Average Revenue

$162,340

Price Per Square Foot

$207

Montana Population Size

1,068,778

Median Household Income

$52,559

High School Graduation

93,2%

Travel Time To Work

18 Mins

Best Cities for Flipping Houses In Montana

  1. Billings
  2. Missoula
  3. Great Falls
  4. Bozeman
  5. Butte

Safest Areas In Montana

  1. Dillen – Safety Score: 95.9
  2. Conrad – Safety Score: 91.33
  3. Glasgow – Safety Score: 90.26
  4. Sidney – Safety Score: 86.22
  5. Miles City – Safety Score: 84.76

Please note – All the statistics in this article are based on 2020 data. You can view the data sources at the bottom of the article.

The Basics Of Flipping Houses In Montana

  • Find a property in Montana that is undervalued
  • Source funding from a reputable hard money lender in Montana
  • Buy the property for a price that makes it possible to generate profit when it is resold
  • Complete renovations that will increase the after repair value
  • Find buyers for the property and sell it for a healthy profit margin

How To Find Houses To Flip In Montana

1. Use FlipScout By New Silver

FlipScout is a free tool that helps you find most profitable real estate investments using data and intelligence. Find a property to flip or rent out anywhere in the country.

2. Leverage The Power of Wholesalers

Finding a good wholesaler can be very rewarding for a property flipper. Wholesalers tend to have access to all the most relevant property databases, and they often have unique personal networks. By using a wholesaler, you effectively gain inside access to their knowledge of properties in Montana.

3. Attend Bank Auctions

Bank auctions often present opportunities to purchase properties below their market value. This is mainly because banks hold these auctions in order to sell the properties as fast as possible. If you attend bank auctions with a clearly defined strategy, you can potentially walk away with a new property that fits in perfectly with your investment portfolio.

4. Use Direct Mail To Find Off-Market Properties

Although it is considered an old school technique, direct mail can still yield positive results for house flippers. Direct mail has been shown to have a higher response rate than email, and numerous studies have shown that people actually enjoy checking their mailboxes. More importantly, you might be surprised by how many people have considered selling their homes. Your letter could be the trigger that they have been waiting for.

5. Sign Up To The Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

Even though MLS listings can be competitive, it is still a good avenue for finding properties to flip. The MLS is literally a database created by real estate agents, and it is filled with property details and statistics that can help aid your research process. There is a fee involved, but one deal is all you need to comfortably cover the costs.

6. Find Foreclosures

When properties fall into foreclosure, the primary goal of the loan originator is to recoup any potential losses. This is good news for house flippers, because properties in foreclosure often sell for less than their market value. If you are able to locate foreclosure opportunities in Montana, there’s a good chance you will be able to purchase a property for less than its market value. This is why foreclosure can serve as a great platform for a potential flip.

Montana Housing Market Analysis

House Flippers Finding Areas with Good Resale Potential: There is only a small gap between the median home value in Montana ($320,998) and the median resale price for house flips in Montana ($325,120). This suggests that investors are focusing on good areas where the after-repair value will be significantly higher than the original purchase price. 

The Revenue Per Flip Is Much Higher Than Most States In The US: The median revenue per flip in the US is just over $60,000. In Montana, this figure jumps up to $124,000. With such high revenue numbers, it is clear that house flippers are completing upgrades that have a significant impact on value of the house. The combination of high quality upgrades in desirable locations appears to be the winning formula in the state of Montana. 

Home Values Increased By 9.0%: According to Zillow, home values in Montana appreciated by 9.0% over the last year. Moreover, house prices have been steadily increasing since late 2012, with the trend likely to continue in the short term. 

The economic impact of covid-19 may have acted as a catalyst for home appreciation in Montana. Historically low interest rates have increased the demand for housing, while the supply of houses has actually decreased. Generally, this sets the stage for prices to continue rising, until mortgage interest rates increase or more sellers enter the market.

Homes In Montana Are More Expensive Than The National Average: The average home value in Montana is $320,998. This is considerably more than the average home value in the United States, which is approximately $266,222. 

It’s not hard to understand why houses in the Big Sky Country are so valuable. The population density is low, the homes are bigger, safety ratings are generally very high and there are vast areas of beautiful wilderness.

Apply For An Investment Property Loan

If you’re ready to start your house flipping journey, New Silver Lending can provide the capital you need to fund your first flip. We offer ultra fast hard money loans with competitive interest rates and quick closing times. The entire application can be completed in less than 10 minutes.

Next Steps

If you’re committed to flipping houses in Montana, the next step is to invest time and energy into finding the best possible property. We have outlined a number of methods in this post, and all of them can potentially bear fruit. 

Once you have identified a property, using a reputable Hard Money lender like New Silver can help accelerate the house flipping process. Our company is built on speed, efficiency and user-friendly technology. The online application can be completed in less than 10 minutes, and we offer instant proof of funds letters to all of our clients.

Property Flipping Resources

Hard Money Loan Calculator: Analyze the costs of your next flip in detail with our hard money calculator.

ARV Calculator: Workout the After Repair Value of the property that you are hoping to flip.

Resources Used In This Post

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