New to Real Estate Investing? 3 Tricks for Beginning Home Flippers

If you’ve never flipped a house before there are probably hundreds of things you should be aware of. But let’s assume you’ve done your research, you know a sharp Real Estate agent to help you find the right home, and you’ve got some contractor skills to help you overhaul it. All these things would give you a leg-up as an Investor, but it’s still not enough.

So what else do you need to know? Ultimately your goal is not to buy the property or remodel the house. You end game will always be to sell it quickly.

Three ‘must have’ aspects of successful home flipping in our current market are outlined below.

Space Transformation Tricks for Home Flippers to Sell a Home Quickly

By Meghan Belnap. Editor’s Note: This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. See what else is cookin’ now at blog.rismedia.com:

Some house flippers use short-term financing to buy a house in need of renovations, but it can have a higher interest rate than other types of financing. It also incurs daily interest charges. Other investors might use their own cash reserves to buy a property. Your decision of course, will be determined by your personal financial standing but either way, the property will be costing you money every single day.

In both situation, it’s wise to focus on selling the home quickly. A critical element to achieving this goal is to create a desirable home that buyers will be interested in. When you’re preparing to transform an investment property, turn your attention to these important points:

Create an Open Floor Plan
Older homes that likely need more renovations may have a closed-off floor plan. This can make the home look smaller and can create a claustrophobic ambiance that may turn off some buyers. Depending on the home that you invest in, creating an open floor plan may be as simple as tearing down the barrier dividing kitchen and dining room.

For added emphasis, you might also tear down any dividing walls between living spaces and the dining room. While you’re not adding square footage through this process, an open floor plan feels more spacious and may be more appealing to a home buyer. In many cases, this is a cost-effective way to generate incredible results.

Authors Note: On more than 75% of home buyer questionnaires, the number one demand is an Open Floor Plan.

Add Natural Light
To transform the space of your investment home, analyze the natural light. Some older homes were built with minimal or smaller windows, resulting in a dark and gloomy interior that is not welcoming or appealing to home buyers. Consider adding windows or enlarging existing ones to let in more natural light.

You can also add skylights or light tubes in bathrooms, kitchen or other spaces that are commonly dark. When you incorporate natural sunlight into a room, you transform the space by making it feel more inviting.

Research Competing Listings

Author’s Note: This should be done twice. Once before you purchase the property and again just before you place it on the market. Prices and market conditions can change dramatically in a matter of weeks.

Before you finalize your renovation plans for your next house-flipping project, you should spend time researching competing listings and most importantly, recently SOLD properties. You could even visit a few homes to get a better feel for market conditions. When transforming a space, you need to at least bring the home up to a level that makes it directly competitive with other listings in the market.

It can also be advantageous to go a step above the competition. This can make the home more appealing for a faster sale; however, avoid making renovations that are considerably above market-level. While the home may be very desirable to buyers when you do this, there is a strong chance that you may price out of the surrounding market. This can make the home too expensive for the neighborhood. The condition of your finished project is critical to a fast sale.

Many house flippers focus on cosmetic features when renovating a home. For example, they may pay attention to paint colors, countertop materials and flooring options. These are all important but other factors are equally critical if you want to benefit from a quick sale.

As you look for new homes to flip, and as you plan the renovations, turn your attention to these tips. They seem like the little things but by doing so, you can create a finished project that sells more quickly.