Podbit · BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast
Most flippers only budget for closing costs on the sale. That's only half the picture. Failing to account for purchase-side closing costs is one of the most common and costly underwriting errors, quietly eroding margins that were already razor thin.
Where this was said
At 13:15 · chapter starts 9:25
With ARV strategy covered, Henry shifts the conversation to costs — starting with commissions and closing costs. Dominique's biggest move of 2025 was getting her real estate license, which she says saves her at least 2.5% per listing — adding up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year across a 10 to 12 deal annual pace [1] — Dominique Gunderson "2.5% agent commission savings: By getting her real estate license in early 2025, Dominique saved at least 2.5% on commissions per deal, add…" 10:25 . She also notes an unexpected benefit: direct access to buyer feedback that's nearly impossible to get secondhand from an agent. Henry takes a different approach, always underwriting a worst-case 6% total commission regardless of what he actually negotiates, keeping his offer prices anchored to the pessimistic scenario. On closing costs, Henry flags the most common and costly beginner mistake: only budgeting for sale-side closing costs [2] — Henry Washington "Closing costs on buy AND sell: A common flipper mistake is only budgeting closing costs for the sale — forgetting the purchase-side closing…" 13:19 . Forgetting purchase-side closing costs can be a several-thousand-dollar blindspot on every deal. His solution for newcomers who don't have historical data is to request a preliminary HUD statement from a title company using the property address.
Dominique Gunderson got her real estate license in early 2025 and it changed her business. Saving 2.5% on every listing adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year across a 10–12 flip portfolio. The bonus: direct buyer feedback that sharpens every future renovation decision.
By getting her real estate license in early 2025, Dominique saved at least 2.5% on commissions per deal, adding up to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
Henry Washington always underwrites assuming 6% in realtor commissions as a worst-case scenario, even if he rarely pays the full amount.
A common flipper mistake is only budgeting closing costs for the sale — forgetting the purchase-side closing costs that also eat into profit.
Sam built Algrow, a SaaS for finding viral content formats, with zero coding experience using ChatGPT and Cursor. Six months later: 10,000 users, $14K/month in revenue.
Sam's first MVP threw an application error on its very first user — and he shipped it anyway. The core idea worked, and that was enough to validate the product and keep users coming back.
Sam joined Discord voice chats, muted himself, and silently screen-shared his product. Users in the chat started tagging him asking what the tool was. No pitch needed — curiosity did the selling.
Most founders post links in Discord and immediately get banned for self-promotion. Sam's approach was the opposite: build rapport, help people with the tool, let word of mouth do the work.
Find where your ICP lives. Listen before building. Validate with DMs and Loom recordings. Build in public with users inside your own Discord server. Turn early adopters into advocates with free access.
Instead of fearing the self-promo ban in large Discord servers, create your own private server for your product. You funnel in ideal customers and build a relationship that email can't replicate.
Algrow helps creators find and replicate viral video formats, starting at $25/month. It analyzes subscriber counts, average views, and trending formats — and can even generate the videos with AI.
After weeks of Sam silently screen-sharing in a Discord server, the server owner — unprompted — made a full YouTube promotional video about Algrow. Sam paid nothing and asked for nothing.
Producer Gus admits Discord never crossed his mind as a customer acquisition channel. Pat connects the insight to a broader lesson: match your distribution channel to where your actual customers live.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.