An Author Wednesday Interview with D. Sidney Potter, author of The Flip

Q. Thanks for the interview. Can we begin by having you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been working in and writing about this topic?

A.  My background is mortgage operations and real estate investment brokerage.  Right about at the time I finished selling shopping centers for a living, I started to buy new tract homes in 2002.  After buying my own investment housing product for about three years – which was in California, Nevada and Arizona, I put pen to paper and wrote the first couple of chapters of The Flip.  Since that time I’ve written two other real estate related books. Ideally, I hope to publish even more on subject matter related to the real estate industry.

Read more for the rest of the interview and for a chance to win a free copy of The Flip for yourself!

Q. What’s your new book about? Why did you write it? What main message will readers take away from it?

A. In short, it’s a real estate docufiction that chronicles the past decade of the real estate crisis before, after, and now.  As to why I wrote it.  I wrote it for spiritual redemption.  You can’t imagine how horrible it feels to have made a $1M+ bucks in a short timespan and then to lose it all.  As to what’s the message.  It’s tantamount to finally getting a ticket to “the Big Dance”, and then just as you’re starting to get comfortable – you’re being promptly led out the park!  To be brief, the main message is not blowing it.

Q. What inspired you to write this book?

A.  In about 2005, after having successfully flipped approximately 30 new tract homes, it occurred to me that a “how-to” real estate book needed to be made on how to commoditize this process into a flipping methodology.  There’s lots of books out there on REO flips, but really none on new tract home flips.  Which is a much more sanitized and exacting way to flip.

Q. What were some of the greatest discoveries, lessons, or findings you came across while doing research and writing this book?

A. Although I wouldn’t describe the interactions I had with some of the luminaries I spoke with that gave testimonials as a great discovery, lesson or finding per sa, the interactions were humbling, informative and flattering.  It isn’t everyday that New Times best sellers, PhD’s, and HGTV hosts enthusiastically want to contribute a testimonial to a book.  It’s not like those people are standing around with nothing to do.

Q. What do you feel sets your book apart from others in the same genre?

A. The book doesn’t “dummy down” to its readers.  A lot of real estate books do that and that’s what I wanted to avoid.  Plus the fact that it doesn’t make “pie in the sky” predictions about real estate success.  It actually let’s you know that real estate investing may not be for everybody.

Q. What are 5 things everyone should know in your area of expertise?

A.  1. If done properly, real estate investing should be investing, not gambling.

2. Check your credit report and make sure your FICO score at least enables you to suit up for

the game.  Being ill-prepared is a waste of everyone’s’ time.

3.Know your exit strategy before you place a down payment on an investment property.
4.Check your cash reserves and make certain you’re sufficiently capitalized before you

actually sign a purchase agreement.

5.Don’t believe what you think.  Meaning, discard negative thinking when it comes to

investing.  It isn’t an arena for naysayers.  It’s an arena for those who properly prepare and

follow through on positive execution.  Doesn’t mean you can’t be cynical, it means

“stinking thinking”gets you nowhere.

Q. If someone were a complete novice when it comes to the topic of your book, what are some steps they could take to dive in and get more educated in this area. (Besides reading your book of course!)

A. Read, read, read other books that are real estate related.  This means sharpen your knowledge on mortgage finance, home improvement upgrades and sales strategies as a starter.  And then as a treat – and this is not an endorsement (Laughs)….watch some HGTV as an indulgence.  The more you read, the better you are when it comes to game time.

Q. If you could write 1 Golden Rule to take away from your book, what would it be and why?

A. Buy Low, Sell Low.  And that is to say, the faster you can get in and out of your flip with less tissue damage, the better.  All too often, investors get greedy and try to milk every penny out of a flip property by trying to sell it at the highest possible price.  Wrong!  The problem with that mindset, which is a Buy Low, Sell High mindset, is that it often results in additional mortgage debt and other auxiliary costs that add to the closing process, not to mention the psychological consternation of being emotionally connected to a piece of property.  This also has the detrimental effect of preventing a real estate investor performing at their highest and best use, which is the efficient acquisition and disposition of housing product.

 

About the Author:

Mr. Potter is a member of the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders. In 1992, he started out as a mortgage operations consultant and then proceeded to work as a commercial real estate broker selling shopping centers in Southern California. He holds a BA, 2 MBA’s and part of a Doctorate from Pepperdine University. Most recently he served on the Board of Directors for two major HOA’s in Las Vegas.

 

Learn more about The Flip click here.

Click here to buy The Flip today!

 

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