Many people seriously underestimate the sheer amount of work, stress, and emotional exhaustion that is associated with home renovations; and who would blame them? Popular television shows like “Flip or Flop” and “Flip this house” make flipping houses look fun and easy. And while this can sometimes be true, they rarely reflect on what home renovations are actually like, especially for the average newbie flipper.
If you’re wondering how hard it is to flip a house, the short answer is: Flipping a house is very hard. However, learning a little more about the process before you jump right into renovating your first house will be sure to go a long way when it comes to lowering the difficulty level. For this reason, we are going to take you through a deep dive into home renovations in this blog, and provide you with a few industry trade secrets that will surely help you ease the experience as much as possible.
So let’s get started at the very beginning…
Plan out your Remodel
Have you ever heard people say that “Preparation is the key to success”! Well, this adage has never been more relevant than when it comes to house flipping. If you’re considering jumping into a full-scale remodel of your house, failing to adequately prepare will drastically affect everything else that will follow, and not in a good way. For this reason, we are going to start by focusing on the planning phase.
At the very beginning of the house flipping process (before you can even begin putting a plan into place), there is one main question that you need to ask yourself; and here is why. With projects as big as house flips, it’s often quite difficult to determine where to start, especially if you have very little experience. Because of this, the question mentioned above will help provide you with a starting point, which you’ll find extremely helpful.
You should ask yourself – “What do I want from this renovation/remodel?” Are you looking to completely revamp your interior, or do you want to focus on specific rooms? Are you interested in upgrading your outdoor area; and if so, would you like to add a deck, patio, or pool? Do the bones of your property (e.g. general structure, as well as plumbing and electrical systems) need upgrades? Thinking about your intention when it comes to the renovation of your house will be sure to put you on the right path, which can save you from months of changes and delays, then disappointment when the flipped house does not meet your hopes and expectations.
Once you’ve given this some thought, you should proceed to consider some other key factors that will be bound to impact your renovation. To help you out, we are going to briefly list and describe these factors below:
- Budget: Thinking about your budget is one of the first things that you should do once you’ve determined what you want from your property renovation. This is mainly because your budget will play a huge part in whether you’ll be able to do everything you plan to, or whether you’ll have to re-think some of your plans.
When planning your budget, you should assign funds to various expenses such as permit costs, costs for materials, costs for furniture and cosmetic touches, and labor fees. It’s also advisable to set aside 10% of your total budget fund for any unexpected expenses that may come up. You can leverage the use of technology as many brands offer real estate accounting software that helps you deal with complex calculations.
- Timeline: Once you’ve put your budget in place, it will be time to consider your estimated timeframe for the renovation project, and to begin jotting down a few key dates. Setting up a timeline will help you get the ball rolling for your renovation. For this, you should first ask yourself when you’d like to start the project and how long you’d like it to last. If you have any looming deadlines that may be coming up soon (such as preparing for selling house to home buyer or relocation), you should also factor these into your overall timeline.
Hire the Right Team
Next, it will be time to put some of those plans into action and get to work. For this, you’ll need to assemble a team that will usually be made up of a contractor, interior designer, and in some cases, an architect (depending on whether your renovation involves altering the physical state of your current home).
This recruitment phase is pretty straightforward for the most part. Be that as it may, most people who face serious problems with their flipping project typically do so because they’ve made fatal mistakes at this stage by hiring the wrong people. When it comes to assembling a team, you can’t simply hire the first people that you come across or select individuals who provide you with the lowest cost estimates possible. It’s important to conduct thorough interviews and consider some of the points below in your final decision:
- Number of years of work experience
- References and previously conducted projects
- Licenses and Certifications
Set Defined deadlines and regularly follow-up
Once you’ve selected your team and set your plans into motion, your next big task will be oversight. And while this may initially feel like the stage to ease up and relax to most newbie flippers, it’s actually when you’ll need to put in the most work.
Sure, there will be very little physical work left for you to do personally. However, overseeing the jobs of a large group of people is not an easy task. At this stage, you’ll need to effectively communicate and coordinate between your contractor, your decorator, and/or your architect, which will require you to remain active and organized. In addition, you’ll need to check up regularly on the project and make sure that the work is proceeding on time, according to the deadlines that you set in the planning stage above.
You and your team will be bound to come across a few complications and setbacks that you’ll have to solve, and that won’t be very easy either. So get ready for a non-stop roller coaster until the flipping project concludes.
Final Words
So there you have it. Flipping a house may not be an easy task. However, if you’ve done your research, read the blog above, and have learned what is required of you as the homeowner, this will be sure to make your task that much easier.
About the Author:
Raaquib Pathan is a content marketing specialist having expertise in providing insights into the latest sales and marketing trends. Honing his skills in SEO coupled with content marketing, he helps brands increase their reach and dominate search results.
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