CHAPTER 5 A Guide to Flipping Houses
Thanks to HGTV, DIY, and other similar TV stations, house flipping has become a widely known real estate investment option. But there’s so much more that goes into it this process than they have time to show you on television. And on top of that, TV shows are edited and created to pique your interest! If you are thinking of stepping into this arena, you need to be as educated as possible with what flipping entails.
THE TRUTH ABOUT FLIPPING
Close your eyes and picture one of these house-flipping TV shows. Imagine you’re a buyer walking through the finished product. Everything’s perfect, right? New floors, fresh paint, updated light fixtures...in fact, you can't even imagine the house looking any different than its finished product right now! It might seem daunting when you apply this vision to your own situation or distressed property that you are considering to buy and flip. How are you going to make your property compete with this?? Well, the good news is that your property doesn’t even have to look like that. So much of that is just reality TV “eye candy,” but the non-TV reality is that you really just need to make sure the house is structurally sound and all the key elements — electrical, plumbing, roof, floors, walls, etc. — are taken care of. Of course, it should look nice, but being “Instagram-ready” with top of the line designer finishes typically isn’t necessary. Plus, if you try too hard to decorate it in a certain style, it might actually turn buyers away and hurt your bottom line.
KNOW YOUR TIMELINE AND HOLDING COSTS 39
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