House Flipping: A Reality Check Before Quitting Your Job
By Business Desk
Teagan Trapp quit his job at 22 to flip houses in the US, completing over 30 deals. Now, he advises against it due to immense challenges. Learn why.
You might dream of quitting your job to pursue a high-profit venture, much like Teagan Trapp, a 24-year-old Canadian, who left his HVAC job at 22 to flip houses in the US. However, despite his significant success, Trapp now candidly states he wouldn’t do it again if he knew the true demands involved.
His decision to venture into US real estate was driven by the stark contrast in mortgage structures. He observed that Canadian residential rental properties faced unprofitability due to five-year mortgage renewals and fluctuating interest rates, unlike the 30-year fixed-rate mortgages available in the US.
Key Numbers from Trapp’s Journey
- March 2024: Trapp’s interest in US real estate began after attending a webinar.
- October 2024: He quit his job to dedicate himself full-time to his company, Blue Peak Ventures.
- March 2025: Trapp purchased his first property, a pre-foreclosure condo near Atlanta, for $70,000 cash.
- He sold this severely neglected hoarder’s house as-is for $130,000 within three weeks.
- Since then, he has completed over 30 deals, averaging two per month.
- Each deal yielded an average profit of $25,000 before overheads.
Trapp’s business specializes in acquiring complex real estate deals, often involving properties from deceased owners, those with family disputes, unpaid mortgages, or vacant and hoarder homes. This intricate process frequently requires tracking down heirs and resolving various liens.
Despite building his company to a team of five, Trapp emphasizes the necessity for an exceptionally high-risk tolerance and the expectation that the process will be longer and more costly than you might anticipate. He plans to expand his team further by hiring an executive assistant and a business operations manager to enhance operational capacity.
To manage the inherent stress and complexity, Trapp aims to consolidate operations from 13 states to just four: South Carolina, Florida, Texas, and North Carolina. This strategic move highlights the intense demands of managing such a widespread venture.
Ultimately, Trapp’s experience reveals that running a house-flipping business requires immense resilience and a thick skin, given the high stress, significant risk, and considerable potential for failure.