The Anatomy of a Flip - Don't believe what TV tells you

I've had it with these "Home Flip" TV shows. The ones that tell you,

"John spent $850,000 on his home. After spending $65,000 on fixing it up, he plans on selling it for $990,000. That means he will make $75,000!!!"

Eh, WRONG. At least in Washington State, we have this little 1.78% fee called an "excise tax", to be paid whenever a home is sold. That's over $17K right there!

Not to mention spending about $3,500 on Title and Escrow and between $40K to $60K on real estate commissions (between 4% to 6%). If you're lucky, you're left with $10K after paying capital gains tax.

** All these amounts are based on the home actually selling for $990,000 **

I actually saw one the other day called "Property Ladder"... it's just like all the other Home Flip shows, except this one tells you how much the people made AFTER all the fees.

One group of 4 made $37K TOTAL after 4 months. Hardly worth the effort.