To succeed, you buy a house 25 to 50 percent below market value, repair and renovate the property to make it a more attractive purchase, and then turn around and sell it at market value. That three-step process — buy, fix, and sell.

To buy low, you have to be in a position to buy quickly. The trick is to have your financial ducks in a row before you go house hunting for your flip.

Before you buy a house, know exactly what you’re going to do to improve the property, how much the improvements are going to cost, how much you can sell the house for, and an estimate of your net profit

Never buy a property unless you’re sure that you can profit from it . . . at least on paper. By jotting down a few numbers and doing the math, you can project your profit well in advance to determine whether the potential profit is worth the risk, not to mention your time and effort. Your goal is to earn at least a 20 percent profit on your total investment.

When you buy a house to flip, it’s like buying a beat up antique at a garage sale. You got the house for a bargain because it needs work that the seller isn’t motivated to do. By cleaning up the joint, fixing whatever’s broken, and perhaps doing a few renovations, you can bring the property up to market standards and sell it for its full market value.

Although you should never over-improve a property, renovations that bring the kitchen and bath up to market standards in your area always pay for themselves by adding real value to the property and making it more attractive to buyers.