House Flipping Tips

Top 7 Tips for Beginning House Flippers

Have you ever dreamt about quitting your day job and becoming a real estate investor? Trust us, you aren’t the only one. There are a lot of Americans that are recently moving to real estate in order to make an additional income.

Keep in mind, flipping a property isn’t easy. It takes a lot of hard work, great timing, and business knowledge. It is important to be prepared and strategic. Here is a quick guide for house flipping for you. This guide will be useful to you no matter how much money you have as a total investment for your first flip.

Analyzing the Budget

The budget is one of the most important things of the house flipping process. Once you secure the finances for your investment, you should be good to go. Make sure that you stick to your budget and leave a little bit more on the side as an emergency cushion. Setting aside a fund for unexpecting repairs and costs could make or break your investment. A good rule of thumb is to save an extra 10-20% of your total budget to the side.

Cost Control

This is where enforcing the budget becomes important. Now that you have done the math and found the purchase price and rehab costs, you need to make sure you don’t break the budget. Try to cut on costs in any reasonable area that you can. Cutting on costs can determine how much labor you do, the cost of hired labor, and the costs of materials. Make sure that you have set a budget. This budget needs to include a landscaping fund, emergency cushion fund, and your bills and renovation costs. You can contact Titan Funding Solutions for more help with this step if you need it.

Materials and Manufacturers

The materials that you choose, and the costs that come with these materials, are important when trying to finish the overall look of your property. Make sure that the craftsmanship is solid so that you can use cohesive design elements at a great price. Look for remnant stores, second-hand stores, and outlets for great deals and deep discounts on these materials and supplies.

Most design stores like, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Harbor Freight have a rewards card program that might be beneficial to sign up for. Don’t be afraid to start networking and building relationships with these manufacturers. These bonds could lead to friendship discounts in the future.

Shopping at Discount Prices

Constantly look for the best deals and prices when shopping for materials and supplies. Most contractors will visit most of the maintenance stores, Wal-Marts, and hardware stores in the area in order to find the best deals. If you can’t find any deal, ask employees if they know of any deals that are going on. This is really useful for paint because paint that is ordered and never picked up can be bought for up to 50% off. Just remember that every dime counts.

Contracting & Labor Distribution

The biggest thing to remember is that the more work you do yourself, the more money you will save. If you come across a problem that you don’t know how to fix, like finding unexpected water damage on your roof, you might have to hire a professional. Make sure that you budget for these services especially if you have multiple workers helping you. Expert contractors will budget everything down to the very last screw. Make sure that you follow this same principle. Budget for everything, no matter how small.

Risk vs. Reward Repairs

Sometimes it can be a good idea to see what other people in the neighborhood you are working in are doing. This is especially helpful when you are working in a nice area. Look for little things like whether they are using granite countertops or not. Make sure your house is familiar but go one step further and take it a little bit past the norm.

Depending on where you are, homes might require a special touch or they might do fine with having laminate counters and boring paint colors. You can even help with the rehab with home staging. Home staging can be done on a small budget depending on the number of rooms. Try to spend money on cosmetic work rather than exceeding your budget on costly renovations.

Finding The Perfect Flip Home

Usually, the best flipping investments are the cosmetic-only projects. There are multiple things to consider when deciding to purchase an investment property no matter where you found the property at. Make sure to ask these questions:

• Is it the right price?
• Can you finish the repairs within 8 to 10 weeks?
• How are sellers doing with the real estate market?

These are really important questions to ask before you just jump into buying your first investment property. Try to find the perfect home that meets all of the requirements and also just feels right.

We’re Here to Help with Your Next Fix and Flip Project

If you are looking for an easy and affordable way to finance your rehab project, contact Titan Funding Solutions today! We can help you with any financial assistance you might need and can answer any questions you have.