It Took 24 Flips in the Midwest to Make $1 Million
And it taught me my first painful lesson about real wealth.
“Everyone wants the million. No one wants the 24 flips it takes to get there.”
From 2013 to 2017, I flipped twenty-four houses.
Markets like Cleveland (OH), Independence (MO), and Memphis (TN) — low entry, high hustle.
When the dust settled, I had cleared over $1 million in profit.
It was my first real taste of success.
And also my first real lesson — the kind that changes how you see the game forever.
The Example That Says It All
Here’s one deal that represents the average of those twenty-four.
- Purchase price: $30,000
- Renovation cost: $34,000
- After-repair value (ARV): $80,000
I sold it. Reinvested the profit. Moved to the next.
At the time, that was the formula: move fast, keep flipping, stay liquid.
Then I checked Zillow in October 2025.
That same property? $204,000.
That’s more than 131% appreciation — on one average deal.
And I realized something that most investors never stop long enough to see:
Flipping builds income.
Holding builds freedom.
The Hidden Cost of Speed
Across those 24 flips, I averaged about $40,000 per deal.
Fast profits. Constant motion.
A million-dollar scoreboard.
But I didn’t understand the real lesson back then.
If I had kept those 24 units instead of selling them,
I wouldn’t just have profits — I’d have a portfolio.
At today’s rents, those same properties would be worth
around $5 million
and produce about $23,000 per month in cash flow —
month after month, year after year.
The real wealth wasn’t in flipping fast —
it was in staying still and letting time compound.
By the end of that stretch, I had learned about the BRRRR strategy:
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat.
It was powerful — a system that let your money recycle itself.
But what I hadn’t yet learned was the real wealth accelerator: holding.
When you hold, you don’t just own property —
you own time, equity, and optionality.
Every year your tenants pay down debt.
Every refinance gives you access to new capital.
Every market cycle multiplies your position while others are still chasing closings.
That’s not just real estate.
That’s compound strategy.
The BRRRR Method — and the Mindset Behind It
What I’d Tell My 2013 Self
You can flip for profit — or you can hold for peace.
One builds cash. The other builds control.
Don’t rush to “win.”
Real wealth takes time, patience, and systems that work while you sleep.
Flipping taught me business.
Holding taught me freedom.
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