We all want to be the next Chip and Joanna Gaines and wow the world with breathtaking renovations and build ourselves a real estate empire. Buying, renovating, and subsequently selling an inexpensive property can be a great investment. But before you buy that next fixer-upper, there are a few questions that you should ask yourself.
Do You Know The Value?
When looking into purchasing a home with the intention of flipping it, there are external factors that you should look at. Don’t just purchase the first run-down, cheap house that you find. It is essential that you spend time assessing the overall value of the property. Investing the amount of money necessary into renovating a house is a big undertaking and without proper assessment, could be a mistake.
Look into the neighborhood of the potential property and research the average price of surrounding homes. You do not want to renovate a home to the point that it becomes too expensive for its current neighborhood. Try to find a property in a town or city that is always gaining value and where people are flocking to live.
Do You Have The Time?
A large majority of house flippers will spend the time and effort to do the renovation work themselves. If this is the way that you plan to undertake this project, make sure that you are able to block out a significant amount of time. This time will be tied up in the renovations themselves, the buying process, the details, and eventually the selling process. As the investor, you are going to need to be there throughout the entire process.
Do You Have The Capital?
Some make look at the fixer-upper business as a cheap way to make money. That is a dangerous assumption. There is quite a bit of upfront capital that is needed to invest properly in a renovation. Not only do you need to pay for the house itself, but there will also be material, labor, and other costs associated with the process that will most likely need to covered upfront.
Do You Have The Resources?
While many full-time house renovators will work on the renovations themselves, sometimes that is just not as feasible for the average investor. If you do not plan to do the fixing up yourself, it is imperative that you have the resources in place to make the entire process go smoothly. Do you have contractors for the various types of work that will need to be completed? Do you have a real estate broker in line to help with the sale of the property?
Renovating a home is a bit more work than a 20-minute TV show makes it out to be. It can be a very wise investment in the correct neighborhood and with the right resources, otherwise, you may be setting yourself up for disaster. Be sure to do ample research and evaluation before embarking on that journey.