House flipping is a form of real estate investing. Flippers find fixer-upper homes they can renovate and sell for a better price. Now that houses are a hot commodity during the crisis, this can be the perfect opportunity for you to make money out of your passion for flipping houses.
Note that house flipping is not for everyone. This is not the type of investment that will make you rich quickly. But if you think you have what it takes to thrive and succeed as a flipper, then go ahead and chase after your passion.
There are many things you need to consider when flipping properties in the middle of a pandemic. Aside from the health and safety measures, you need to stay on top of the real estate trends to ensure you get the most out of your investment. Here are three best practices you can adopt to boost your return on investment during these trying times:
Never Buy Without Prior Inspection
There is currently a shortage of houses for sale during the crisis. Sellers are holding on to their properties in hopes of selling at a much higher price in the future. In an attempt to win a good property, some buyers would forego a home inspection and a real-life house tour.
Technology makes it easier to find and browse houses for sale online. One can even check properties in the market through virtual tours and complete a home purchase online. But some buyers are willing to skip the home inspection just because many others are eager to buy the same property.
It is crucial that you think and act like a real estate investor by investing in a home inspection. It does not even matter if you are a highly-experienced house flipper and knows a thing or two about inspecting houses. You don’t want to end up buying a fixer-upper home that will cost you more than you can afford.
Always go for a home inspection before closing a deal. There are many properties you can invest in that will only require you some improvements so you can sell them for a profit. For starters, you can focus on properties that only require cosmetic updates.
Include Improvements That Promote Better Privacy and Security
Health experts are encouraging us to continue sheltering in place. But being cooped up indoors for so long can only drive us to the brink of insanity. Humans are meant to socialize but the pandemic stops us from doing this in real life.
One way to ease the stress of quarantining is having an outdoor living space one can actually use and enjoy. If the property you are flipping has a sizable yard, use this opportunity to boost its curb appeal. Aside from the regular outdoor touch-ups, include other projects that will help maximize privacy and security.
You can start by installing a residential fence around the property. This way, future buyers can easily tell where their property line is. Fences are a great way to keep pets and children safe from roadside accidents and uninvited guests while improving the privacy, curb appeal, and value of your property.
You can also consider investing in home automation. Certain smart home features help boost home security. More home buyers plan on buying smarter houses, making such an investment worth your time and effort.
Reconsider Keeping Open Floor Plans
Before the crisis, homeowners renovated their homes to accommodate open floor plans. They want their space to look and feel bigger without constructing new rooms into their homes. What they did was tear off some walls, so they can enjoy more flexibility at home.
But now that we are sheltering in place and almost all members of the family are home 24/7, everyone could use a break by having their dedicated space. It is not enough that you have enough rooms to accommodate more family members. It also helps that houses now offer better privacy for all the family members.
Your next buyer could be a mix of remote workers, kids learning from home, and their pets living on one roof. With an open floor plan, they won’t have the privacy and space they need to accomplish tasks and stay sane. So, consider carving dedicated spaces one can turn into workstations and study nooks.
If you have a big enough room in the property that you can divide into two separate rooms, consider adding partitions and a sliding door. If there is more space in the backyard, you can add an accessory dwelling unit. These are popular improvements nowadays for remote workers who want physical space and more privacy in their homes.
These are three things worth keeping in mind if you plan on flipping houses during the pandemic. You are better off buying properties that passed a home inspection. Invest in improvements that can boost the security, value, and privacy of the property. Reconsider open floor plans and add more rooms to the property. These can help you quickly find buyers who are in need of a new home to live in during the crisis.
