Hi John, I'm aware that the term 'flipping' originated in the US where the legal and cultural landscape is somewhat different. I believe that there it refers to negotiating a deal and then selling on the deal at a higher price to someone else, for instance thru an option agreement, without ever owning it yourself.
In the UK, without much public familiarity with option agreements involving third parties (as yet), in general parlance the term means buying and then immediately selling on the deal to someone else. It might come to mean something similar to the US version in time, if options to buy properly take off, or aren't regulated into oblivion because of the abuse which is already taking place.
I feel that taking a fixed commission is different to flipping as the commission necessarily has to be relatively small compared to the price difference between price paid and OMV. Unless it's a very poor deal of course. It's my honest belief that most 'BMV deals' offered here and elsewhere aren't that great once you subtract transaction and finance costs and time, what you term 'friction'. It's also my honest belief that if proper due dilligence is done, many (most?) 'BMV deals' offered are nothing like as BMV as advertised. This belief is rooted in the experiences of my investor friend as described here.
I hope that clarifies the situation.
Rich
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