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Call (916) 436-3776Fix-and-Flip Investing California
How Do I Finance and Run a Fix-and-Flip in California in 2026?
To flip a house in California, you buy a distressed property below market, renovate it, and resell for a profit, usually within 6 to 18 months. Most flippers use a hard-money / fix-and-flip loan (short-term, based on the after-repair value rather than your income, and fast to close) rather than a conventional mortgage. The discipline that keeps you profitable is the 70% rule: pay no more than 70% of the after-repair value minus rehab costs. Ashlar Lending arranges the financing; Serve First helps you buy the deal and sell the finished flip.
Flipping houses in California can be profitable, but the margins are tighter than they were, national gross ROI fell to about 25% in 2025, its lowest since 2008, so discipline is everything. Two things separate flippers who make money from those who don't: buying right (the 70% rule) and financing right (fast, short-term capital that doesn't eat your margin). This guide walks through the deal math, the financing, and the exit, then links to a guide for your area. Ashlar Lending can arrange the fix-and-flip loan, and Serve First works both ends, helping you find the deal and sell the finished product.
One family. The capital, the entity, and the sale.
The capital to buy, the entity to protect you, the team to sell
A flip lives or dies on financing speed, a clean exit, and a properly maintained business behind it. The Ashlar Brands family covers all three:
- Ashlar Lending Inc. (NMLS #2699657) can arrange the fix-and-flip / hard-money loan that makes flips possible: short-term, underwritten on the deal and after-repair value rather than your tax returns, and able to close fast, often covering a large share of purchase plus rehab. If the resale market softens mid-project, it can also discuss a DSCR refinance so you hold as a rental instead of selling into a slow market.
- Serve First Realty works both ends, helping you find and acquire the right distressed property, then listing and selling the finished flip to capture your margin.
- Ashlar LDA, Inc., a bonded and registered Legal Document Assistant, can prepare the documents to form your LLC or corporation, and the ongoing records that keep it real: annual minutes, resolutions, and the Statement of Information. Good corporate records are what keep the liability shield intact, sloppy records are how the "corporate veil" gets pierced and your personal assets exposed.
These are separate businesses in the Ashlar Brands family. Serve First Realty is a real estate brokerage, not a lender; loan terms, rates, and approval are determined by the lender. A Legal Document Assistant prepares documents at your direction and is not a substitute for an attorney. Flipping carries real risk: returns depend on accurate ARV, rehab budgets, and market timing.
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Fix-and-Flip 70% Rule Calculator
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