The Denver fix and flip market 2026 is producing a strange combination. Strong showing activity and soft offer volume. One Arvada property sat through 57 showings in 44 days. The deal that finally came in fell apart when the buyer’s grandmother refused to release the down payment. That’s the market Derek Marlin is navigating right now.

Derek Marlin founded Elevation in 2014. The company does fix and flips, wholesaling, fee-based project management, and runs a brokerage team at eXp. He also runs the Elevation Academy and the Broadway Collective, a Denver co-work space that recently hit 100% occupancy. His team runs 3 company flips at a time and operates at roughly 85% off-market acquisition volume.

In this conversation, Derek Marlin and Chris break down the Denver fix and flip market 2026 from the ground up. Motivated sellers are still anchored to 2021 valuations. Carrying costs add up fast when deals drag 6 weeks longer than planned. Derek also walks through his 4-offer model. It gives sellers a cash offer, a fix-in option, a fee-based consulting path, or a partnership flip. The partnership flip now requires putting the seller on title in an LLC before Elevation funds the rehab. That change came after too many sellers changed their minds mid-project.

In this episode we cover:

• Why 57 showings in 44 days produced almost no offers and what Derek Marlin thinks that signals about buyer behavior in the Denver fix and flip market right now
• The Arvada flip case study at 8506 Union Circle, $60K rehab, listed at $725K, 57 showings, one terminated contract, and a final sale near $700K
• How a grandmother ended a $719K deal 3 days after inspection by refusing to release the down payment funds
• The 4-offer model Elevation uses with every seller, and why the partnership flip structure now requires LLC title transfer before any rehab capital goes in
• Why Derek Marlin is running 85% off-market and what ratio he actually wants to hit
• The tear gas house case study, a SWAT-raided Centennial property taken to studs, $405K in rehab, sold near $1.4M, with the client clearing $181K in 6 months
• What Elevation Academy covers in a full day and what the $997 includes
• Derek Marlin’s outlook on the Denver fix and flip market, optimistic long-term, defensive on underwriting right now

Derek Marlin’s direct, data-grounded take on current conditions is the kind of real-time Colorado flip intel you won’t find anywhere else. If you are active in the Denver fix and flip market in 2026 or thinking about getting started, this episode is worth your full attention.

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Timestamps

00:00 Derek Marlin and Elevation intro — flips, wholesaling, brokerage, education

02:29 Denver flip market read — healthy but disillusioned

07:30 Motivated sellers anchored to 2021 — how to reframe the conversation

06:47 Arvada flip case study — $60K rehab, $725K list, 57 showings, 44 days on market

11:05 Grandma terminates the deal — undisclosed down payment source kills $719K contract

12:25 Velocity of money — why Derek dropped to $700K instead of waiting

20:32 Off-market acquisitions — 85% off-market and the target 70/30 split

27:39 2026 deal flow — 3 company flips, 5 consulting clients, 7 wholesales

30:39 Price Points and Wholesaling — Why Derek Stays Below $900K and Passes the Rest

33:39 Tear gas house — SWAT raid, $405K rehab, $1.4M sale, $181K client profit in 6 months

37:30 Elevation Academy — $997 full-day training, June 5th, what’s included

39:24 Denver market outlook — optimistic long-term, defensive on underwriting

Links in Podcast

• Elevation: elevationinvest.com
• Elevation Academy
• Flip mentioned in this episode: 8506 Union Circle, Arvada, CO

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