Demo To Dollars
Demo to Dollars is your go-to podcast for real-world, how-to strategies for flipping houses, delivered in fast, focused, no-fluff episodes you can actually use.
Hosted by Ed Mathews, real estate investor and President of Clark St Academy, this show cuts through the noise to give you the exact tactics Ed and his team use in their flipping business every day.
No theories. No hype. No gatekeeping.
Just practical lessons to help you find deals, estimate rehabs, raise capital, and close flips like a pro.
Whether you’re working a full-time job, starting from scratch, or scaling your operation, each episode gives you one actionable insight to move your business forward in 5 minutes or less.
Think of it as your daily blueprint for building wealth, one flip at a time.
Demo To Dollars
Why Your ARV Strategy Is Costing You Thousands
Smart real estate investors know that misusing ARV (After Repair Value) can cost them thousands, while those who approach it strategically create room for significant upside potential.
• ARV is an educated guess about what a property might sell for after renovation, not a guaranteed number
• Many investors treat ARV as gospel or artificially inflate it to make deals work on paper
• "Tommy" bumped his ARV from $280K to $295K to force a deal to work, ultimately breaking even after months of work
• Conservative ARV estimates create safety margins for unexpected market changes
• A $150K property with $100K in renovations and conservative $310K ARV projection ultimately sold for $389K during COVID
• The market changes daily, weekly, and monthly – projections must account for this reality
• Get comps from the last 60 days with attention to pending sales
• Only buy properties that work financially in your conservative scenario
• Smart flippers don't chase ARV, they control their exit
Get out there and get cracking on your first or next deal by following these ARV strategies that actually work.
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Problem was with his estimated repair costs. The deal was tight, not a whole lot of profit. Instead of walking away, he decided you know what? I think this neighborhood's on the rise. I'm going to bump the ARV to $295, and that makes the profit look a whole lot better. Yikes. Ever sat in your car scrolling through Zillow and thought, man, if I just knew where to start, I could flip one of these. Yeah, I've been there too. Most people who want to flip houses never even start, not because they're lazy, but because they don't have the blueprint. Well, that changes today. If you give me five minutes, I'll give you real-world flipping strategies that actually work. No fluff, no theories, no gatekeeping, just real how-to information for you to apply today. This is Demo to Dollars, the no BS flipping playbook, one show at a time. Today's a hot take here. It is Stop using ARV the way everyone else does. Now, I know that's going to ruffle some feathers, but it's true. Most flippers misuse ARV and it's costing them a ton of money. Here's the problem. Arv or the after repair value, it's a fixed number. It's an educated guess about a property and what it might sell for after you've put in the work and done all the rehab. But too many investors treat it like gospel. They comp a property, they grab a number they like and they run with it as if the market is frozen in time. Some will stretch that number to make a deal work on paper. Both are bad business and that's where people get burned. Let me tell you about a buddy of mine. Let's call him Tommy, not his real name. Tommy found a flip he really wanted. He pulled comps and figured the ARV was around $280. Problem was with his estimated repair costs. The deal was tight, not a whole lot of profit. Instead of walking away, he decided you know what? I think this neighborhood's on the rise. I'm going to bump the ARV to $295, and that makes the profit look a whole lot better. Well, he bought it, spent more on repairs than he planned.
Speaker 1:The market softened a bit during the project and when it came time to list, reality set in. No one was touching it for $295. Best offer he got was $2.72. And after closing costs and commissions he barely broke even. Months of work and a whole bunch of stress for zero return that's the price of forcing numbers to fit your narrative. You're never going to figure it out. You have to run it by the real numbers, and you have to take into consideration that the market changes on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. Now let's talk about the flip side of that coin.
Speaker 1:Years ago I spotted a property for sale for $150,000. It was a wreck. The previous tenants had absolutely trashed it. Walls were destroyed, floors ruined, the pool was full of years of garbage, every inch screaming run away. It smelled like wet dog the whole place.
Speaker 1:But I wanted this project for one specific reason. It was on the road between my house and my office. I drove by it every day and every day I thought this place is an eyesore. I can make it so much nicer and worth being proud of. So we estimated about $100,000 in repairs, full gut, everything from foundation to fixtures. Our comps showed an ARV of around $325,000, but I ran my numbers assuming a sale at $310,000 just in case the market softened. That gave me a comfortable margin, even if things didn't go perfectly.
Speaker 1:Then COVID hit and while a lot of businesses got hammered here in Connecticut, the housing market actually exploded. We finished the project and this now clean, safe and beautiful home hit the market. It drew a crowd, multiple offers all over asking, and in the end we sold it for $389,000 to a really nice couple who were thrilled to move in. A bidding war had just turned a conservative, safe deal into a home run deal. The lesson ARV isn't the ceiling, nor is it the floor. It's just a projection. The pros don't bet the farm on their best guess. They plan for the downside and leave room for upside surprises. So here's the play Get comps from the last 60 days with an eye on pending sales. Stress test your ARV, run conservative and aggressive numbers and only buy if the deal works in your conservative scenario. Smart flippers don't chase ARV, they control their exit.
Speaker 1:Thanks for making our show a part of your day. See you on the next one. Thanks for listening to Demo to Dollars. If today's episode helped you move one step closer to your first or next deal, do me a favor follow us wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss a show. I'm grateful to be part of your journey. Now get out there and get cracking. Bye. For now.
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