Home Flipping 101: What You Need To Know

NORFOLK, VA, May 03, 2013—If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, renovating, and selling—also known as house flipping—then you may have a lot buzzing through your brain right now. The market is ripe with investment opportunities, and if you do the research, you can still snag a real deal on a fixer upper. Below, Louis Eisenberg, Associate Broker REALTOR ABR SFR of Prudential Towne Realty outlines what you need to know about house flipping before you sign any dotted lines.

Do Your Research

Don’t just pick up the first property that catches your eye. “Compare houses, prices and markets just like you would if you were buying a primary property,” says Eisenberg.

Crunch Numbers

Talk to someone with experience flipping homes, and really bite into the numbers before you make an offer. Scrutinize your budget. How much can you sink into a home? How much do you think the home needs before it will be ready for resale? How much do you think you can get for it? Will it be worth the time and effort?

Give Yourself Time

“House flipping can be a timely endeavor, especially in today’s market,” Eisenberg reminds us. “And even if you renovate quickly, there is no guarantee you will sell quickly.” If you have to work under pressure for any reason at all, then now may not be the time for a project like this.

Have Cash
Banks are tighter with their loans these days, so if you plan on buying an investment property, plan on having a sizable part of the down payment ready to fork over. This will show lenders you’re serious. Have enough cash to forgo the lender all together? Even better. “Sellers love cash buyers, and you may be able to get a better price if you can pay it all up front,” explains Eisenberg.

Location, Location, Location.

Before you buy the house down the street from your own, research where folks are buying right now, and scrutinize local markets. “Keep an eye out for cities where the markets are on the rise—not stagnant—so that when your property is ready for resale, someone will be ready to buy it,” Eisenberg suggests.

Pick Renovations Carefully

You may want to fix the house up from soup to nuts. But before you start working on that private screening theatre in the basement, tackle renovations with the largest return on investments. “A nice kitchen, up-to-date bathrooms and decent-sized bedrooms are good bets when renovating for sale,” says Eisenberg. “And of course, make sure the roof is in good condition and the foundation isn’t crumbling.” That Jacuzzi tub won’t make buyers overlook the cracked basement walls.

For more information on house flipping, please contact Louis Eisenberg, Prudential Towne Realty, at leisenberg@prudentialtownerealty.com, 757-572-7244, or www.LouisEisenberg.com.