What to look for in a house you are planning on flipping?

 

Picking the right house when flipping is one of the most important aspects of ensuring a successful & profitable project.

Mechanics:

You want to find a home that has updated windows, furnaces, roofs & other mechanics. These items are not game changers, therefore, you don’t want to have to replace these because you won’t even break even on these repairs.

Dated: 

You want to find a home where you can do game changers to bring up the value. Look for homes that are painted ugly colours (dark, oranges, burgundy, vibrant), super dated flooring & cabinetry, ugly light fixers, closed traditional layouts. Painting is a high impact renovation that is inexpensive but can dramatically change the look of a home.

Opening walls can turn a traditional looking home into a modern home instantly. A non-load bearing wall is the best, but even if it is load bearing it worth the extra cost of support beams to open it up.

Swap dated flooring with a modern hardwood-look-a-like such as laminate. This will do wonders! Depending on the price point you may want to use hardwood. Keep as much of the flooring the same throughout the house, it will create a better flow. Yes, even foyers and kitchens most people prefer to be the same flooring as the adjoining rooms.

Kitchen/Bathroom: 

Redoing kitchen and bathrooms are also game changers but these are high-cost renovations. You don’t have to use super expensive cupboards but you want them to have the features of expensive ones, like soft close drawers, moulding, undermount lighting, garbage drawer, etc. Adding an ensuite or walk-in closet to an older style home will vastly increase the number of potential buyers. For many buyers having an ensuite is non-negotiable. These are the things that we consider game changers and they will be the money makers in the home.

Avoid Structural: 

Run, run as fast as you can away from home that have structural issue these tend to be money pits and can suck all the profit away from you.

Rental Potential: 

Also, it can be a good idea to purchase a home that once you flipped would be easy to rent it for the carrying cost of the house just in case the market changes and you are better to hold it for a while. Walking through the home the buyer will not be able to obviously see that you spent $40,000 on re-structuring the home meaning they are most likely not going to be willing to pay $40,000 more for the home.

Click here for tips on how to pick a good neighbourhood for a flip!