Category: Flipping

Time vs. Cost: What Jobs are Worth Doing Yourself?

Post author By Ana Hernandez
Post date September 2, 2020

Don’t you love it when people watch house flipping and renovation TV shows and say, “wow, it looks so easy to flip houses for great returns”? But the reality is that flipping is a risky business that requires a lot of hard work, excellent project management skills, and savvy budgeting in order to succeed.

One of the most important parts of flipping houses is the way you restore it for reselling. Some flippers like to do nearly all the renovations themselves to save on costs, but others would rather pay contractors to do it to save on time. Many also opt for a mix of DIY and professional contractors, but in this case, which jobs should you handle yourself, and which are best left to the pros?

While it’s generally cheaper to DIY, those savings could be nullified if you do it wrong and end up with expensive corrections. And while some tasks might look easy, you need to give up significant hours of your own time to learn and accomplish them. So if we look at the time/cost benefit analysis, which jobs are worth doing yourself?

PLAN OUT THE RENOVATION

Before you start swinging a hammer in good faith, go over the whole property and list down all the repairs that it needs, taking into account the cost and lead times for each. If you’re going to DIY, you have to be able to accurately calculate their costs and realistically estimate the time it will take to complete, as well as the order in which projects should be carried out.

DO WHAT YOU KNOW, HIRE WHAT YOU DON’T

SKILL REQUIREMENTS

Fixing high-ticket areas like the roof, floors, and kitchen areas yourself can save a lot of money, because professionals usually charge a premium for these services. However, the reason for that is these tasks require a high level of expertise to do them well. When done poorly, constantly repairing them will outweigh the money you supposedly saved by doing it yourself.

You might be charged anywhere from $300 – $10,000 for a professionally installed drywall, while you can do it yourself for significantly less. Similarly, painting will cost you $2-3 per square foot if you get it done professionally, whereas you can do it yourself for just the cost of the paint – it also has a low skill requirement, so not much can go wrong if you DIY.

So if you have experience in doing these, by all means, DIY. But being inexperienced will only leave you with wasted time, accidents, more repairs to fix, and a lower flipping profit.

PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS

Some repairs require specific building codes, permits, and inspections, like removing walls or installing new bathrooms. Better steer clear from DIY-ing these, unless you plan to leave your full-time job to be a contractor yourself. A professional will help you with the paperwork required and provide knowledge if the wall is load-bearing, or if you’d need more space for a bathroom. Their work is also insured, so if anything does go wrong, you’ll know that it’s covered.

A GENERAL GUIDE

Which jobs you do yourself should be based on your skillset and condition of the house, as well as permit requirements. Some jobs will require a licensed professional, like installing complete new plumbing, which you need a permit for, unless you want to get a citation from the city. A homeowner can pull their own permit in most states, without a license, because the homeowner is the one taking the risk. But if you do it wrong, you could have an electrical fire, etc., or end up failing your building inspection and being told to redo it.

However, this list should give you a general guide on when to DIY and when to hire a professional:

DO IT YOURSELF

Fix an outlet, doorknob, lights
Painting
Install baseboards
Install laminate flooring or luxury vinyl
Insulate open walls
Install a toilet (bowl)
Install minor PEX plumbing

HIRE A PROFESSIONAL

Additions
Replacing sidewalks and driveways
Replumbing the whole house
New electrical service panel and circuits
Replacing windows
Install solid hardwood flooring
Installing a furnace or central AC

Timing is everything with a flip, so work within your set of skills. Consider splitting the workload between you and a contractor who can compensate in places where you struggle. That way, you can focus on the things you know how to do, and still save yourself some money. At the same time, you’re not being slowed down by more complicated projects which will take you as a DIY-er much longer than a professional team to carry out.

What are the fixes you DIY when you flip a house, and which do you always leave to the pros?

Image Courtesy of Laurie Shaw

Tags DIY Landlord, Flipping, Renovation

Flipping Landlords

How to Target Metro Detroit Landlords with your Flip (Part 2)

Post author By Ana Hernandez
Post date July 29, 2020

Last week, we looked at how to plan your flip to target an owner-occupier buyer in Metro Detroit. This week, we’ll take it a step further and consider how to market flipped properties to another kind of buyer, and one which most flippers wouldn’t necessarily consider right off the bat: landlords.

Landlords are probably not going to pay as much as an owner-occupier would, but they could be a consistent buyer for your properties, so building relationships with local buy and hold investors could be a great back-up strategy for marketing your flips.

Especially in the current economic environment, having a consistent buyer for multiple properties could be a serious boon for flippers. More people are choosing to rent long-term rather than buy, and this trend is likely going to continue as we slowly recover from the financial strain caused by coronavirus. But, while first-time buyers could be shying away from buying now, investors are always on the look out for a good deal.

So, here are some points to consider when targeting Metro Detroit landlords as buyers:

Landlords are Investors, Just Like You: This means they won’t be sold purely on light, airy spaces and nice kitchen counters – they want to see the hard numbers when making their decision. Highlight the financial benefits of the property when marketing to them, like whether the area has low vacancy rates, the rent-to-price ratio, and CapEx projections for any maintenance that will be required in the coming years.

Lower Margins: Buy and hold investors will be looking for a deal, and in Metro Detroit they’re unlikely to be looking for a single family home that costs several hundred thousand dollars, meaning your margins on each sale will be lower. However, you may be able to compensate for this in the volume of sales you do, since a landlord could become a guaranteed buyer for multiple flips. If you build relationships with local landlords, you can also do off-market deals with them, saving both of you time and money spent on marketing and agents’ commissions.

Out-of-State Buyers: When you consider the fact that the rental market in Metro Detroit attracts tons of investors from out of state – and even overseas – to the area in search of high rent-to-price ratios, you can see how marketing to this group can significantly widen your pool of buyers. Most of these out-of-area investors look for properties that are fully–rehabbed and ready to rent out, meaning a fresh flip could be the perfect choice for them.

Many of them also look for ‘turnkey’ rental opportunities, meaning properties which have a tenant and property management company in place, so you can find a tenant and then sell your flip as an active rental investment. You can also partner with a local PMC to show landlords that your property comes with the whole package, turning it into a mostly hands-off investment for them.

Invest in Different Markets: Selling to landlords can also widen the pool of areas you can invest in, since a strong rental neighborhood and a strong seller’s market are two different things. This gives you the chance to flip properties in lower-price areas, with less upfront capital. You also won’t need to shell out as much for high-end fixtures and fittings, since these won’t matter to a landlord like they would to an owner-occupier.

Landlords may not be your primary market, but they can account for a healthy secondary market when it comes to finding buyers for your flips. Keep these points in mind when targeting local buy and hold investors with your flip, and you could end up with a lifetime customer for your business.

Image Courtesy of Lisa Fotios

Tags Flipping, Landlord

Flipping

Tips for Selling Your Flip Fast

Post author By Ana Hernandez
Post date June 24, 2020

Do you want to sell your flip as fast as possible?

Flipping has always been a popular investment strategy for those looking to earn some quick-and-dirty profit. You see a property that has great potential to be sold at a much higher price–after some improvements and renovations–so you quickly buy it, flip it, and sell it! And of course, the more properties you flip, the steadier your income becomes.

But how can you ensure that your flip will sell quickly? Each day that passes costs you money–there’s mortgage payments, utilities, taxes, and other expenses that you’d need to pay while the property is in your possession. How can you sell as fast as possible, to minimize the amount of time your capital is at risk?

Here are some tips to help you sell your flips fast:

1. Know Who’ll Buy Your Flip

Before anything else, you should first consider who your potential customers will be. Always keep this ideal buyer in mind, because all your efforts–from renovation to marketing–should be focused on appealing to this buyer. All their demographic details should be considered to rehab and market your flip effectively. What life stage are they at? What do they expect from a property? How can you evoke an emotional response to encourage the sale?

2. Make Your Flip Their Dream Home

Now that you’ve identified your target buyer, rehab the property according to their expectations. When they see the property, they should be impressed and immediately think, “This is it! This is what we’ve been looking for.” For example, people usually like significant upgrades in the kitchen, but be careful not to make your fixes too niche or “trendy”–buyers might not share your taste or style. They want to see their home, and not somebody else’s. So think about what your target market would want in their dream home, and deliver that.

3. Partner with an Expert Agent

This might just be the most important tip on this list. You need an expert real estate agent to ensure you sell your flip fast. They should have proven experience, especially in the specific area you’re selling in. A good agent can help you determine how to tailor a property to the needs of local buyers, and should be great at evoking an emotional response during property viewings. Once you’ve built the dream house, it’s your RE agent who will make that dream come alive in the mind of the buyer, so they form a crucial component of sealing the deal.

4. Price It Competitively

Just like in most industries–pricing is everything. So make sure you price your flipped home at a competitive level, if you’re looking for a quick sale. Your agent should help you figure out the perfect price, though you can already get a good idea from researching the neighborhood yourself. How much did other flips sell for? How long did the property stay on the market?

5. Stage it–Show it Off!

It’s important to stage your flip in the most impressive way you can to help buyers visualize themselves living in the property. Even now, with virtual showings becoming more popular in the era of the new normal, it’s still just as important to stage the property well. But this doesn’t mean you should over-decorate the whole house. Instead, focus on bringing out the best features of the main rooms: the living room, master bedroom, dining room, and kitchen. Set the scene so that your target buyer can imagine their family in the space, making sure that the dream you’re selling is consistent with your audience’s needs and wants.

If you follow these tips, you should be able to generate a lot of interest in your properties amongst local buyers, allowing you not only to sell your flip fast, but put yourself in the best position to receive multiple competing offers, as well. And that’s exactly what every flipper wants to maximize profits and quickly move on to their next project.

Any other tips you’d like to share with your fellow flippers?