Real estate investors who did over 50 deals in 2025 explain why they're shifting away from flips and leaning into the BRRRR method

• Investors Mike Gorius and Kevin Hart doubled revenue by increasing deal size in Louisville real estate.
• They are shifting from house flipping to the BRRRR strategy, which offers a more predictable exit.
• The shift away from flips isn't about retreating — it's about adapting to a slower market and prioritizing long-term stability.

After completing more than 50 deals last year, real estate investors Mike Gorius and Kevin Hart aren't slowing down — but they are changing strategy.

In 2025, the pair closed about the same number of deals as the year before, while nearly doubling their revenue by going bigger.

"We probably only did a couple more deals than in 2024, but our deal size almost doubled," Gorius told Business Insider. "We did about 52 deals last year and grossed around $500,000. This year, we did 54 deals and grossed just over a million."

In 2026, the business partners, who primarily invest in Louisville, say they are moving away from the strategy that helped them get their start in real estate: flipping.

"In 2026, we expect to do fewer flips," Gorius said. "Unless it's an absolute home run, it just doesn't make as much sense in this market."

A slower market makes flipping riskier

Hart and Gorius said that their market has cooled significantly, making quick flip exits harder to count on.

"Since around September, the market has dropped pretty significantly," Hart said. "In Louisville, we've gone from about 2,500 homes on the market to nearly 3,900. Days on market have tripled — now it's over a month, sometimes even two."

The slowdown makes it even more imperative that they land a good deal on the front end, he added: "If you overpay for a property, you're not getting like 10 offers in the first 24 hours. It may sit on market for a month because you overpriced it, and then the price just continues to drop. So you really have to make sure you're buying at the right price."

Leaning into the BRRRR method

Instead of relying on flips, Gorius and Hart plan to lean more heavily into BRRRR projects in 2026.

Short for buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat, the BRRRR strategy involves renovating a property, renting it out, and then refinancing to pull out capital — ideally recouping most or all of the initial investment while retaining ownership of the asset.

The approach isn't risk-free. You still have to make sure your numbers work and you can hit the value you're expecting, Hart pointed out: "From the get-go, you still have the risk of rehab and the risk of running correct costs to make sure that you can actually get a good appraisal."

But compared to flipping, BRRRR offers a more predictable exit.

"You're taking out the risk of the market," explained Hart. Instead of worrying about a flip sitting for months while you're paying interest, "you know that at the end of the rehab you can get a tenant in there and you can immediately refinance with the bank."

It may not result in quick cash like a successful flip can, but they're playing the long game anyways.

Even if a BRRRR doesn't pencil out perfectly in the short term, holding onto the asset can still pay off over time, said Gorius: "The truth is, in real estate, time does heal all."

If you have to bring $10,000 to the table to refinance and pay off a private lender, at least you still own the asset, he added: "You can put tenants in there, and maybe you lose $100 a month at first — not saying Kevin and I do this — but over time, rent will go up and eventually, you'll get that $10,000 back. Eventually, you won't lose $100 a month — you'll make $100."