John Casmon

Flipping 40 Homes a Year in a Hot Market with Tarl Yarber, Episode 38

They say do what you love, yet Tarl Yarber has become one of the top rehabbers in Seattle without even liking real estate. The founder of Fixated Real Estate, Tarl’s secret is developing systems that enable him to replicate a success formula. Find out why Dropbox is a critical resource for managing his flips, how he found new submarkets when his core area became too hot in Seattle and why the path of progress leads to Tacoma.

Key Market Insights

Attended a seminar 13 years ago with Robert Kiyosaki, Tony Robbins, Ron LeGrand and Marshall Sylver
Bought a $1,500 personal development program, then bought a $900 program on wholesaling to pay for the first program
Went into debt collection over $4,500, but was committed to wholesaling
Made $100k on first wholesale, Tarl’s share was $60k
Served as consultant to Charter Home Alliance and then became national sales director
Partnered with 5 of his colleagues and did his first 6 flips at the same time
After those partnerships fizzled, started Fixated Real Estate in 2014
In Seattle if you do 10 flips a year, you are in the top 10 flippers
Fixated handles 30-40 flips a year, with 12-17 active rehabs at once in Seattle
Currently has 9 active rehabs and will not go over 10 with solid margins
Three counties in Seattle: King, Snohomish, Pierce
Used to invest in downtown Seattle, but focuses now on King and Pierce counties
Majority of people are buying houses south of the city and headed towards Tacoma – South King County and Pierce County
New light rail built downtown Tacoma facilitates commuting from Tacoma to Seattle, boom will take place in south Seattle
Bought a home in Tacoma – cash flows $350 monthly, but has great economic upside
Leverages dropbox to track, organize and timestamp the progress of all projects
Founder of the Big Bad Ass Conference in Seattle from April 27-29