House flipping means buying a house, increasing its value<\/a> and making a profit on it when you sell, essentially buying low and selling high. There are two ways to do this: you can either make repairs and upgrade the d\u00e9cor and furnishings, or you can wait until the housing market increases by a certain percentage to recoup your money. Either way, there are some basic things that you can do to improve the property\u2019s value without spending huge amounts of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key mistake that a lot of would-be flippers make is to buy a house that\u2019s too expensive to return a decent profit. Remember that you have to pay stamp duty and other purchasing fees for the likes of conveyancing and surveys, plus any renovation costs, and still make a profit on top of that. If you already own another home when you purchase an investment property, you will also have additional ‘second home<\/a>‘ stamp duty to pay. Properties bought at auction may also incur auction house fees as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to selling, there can be hefty costs<\/a> involved too. As such, you should always allow at least 10% extra, but preferably 15%, when it comes to your profit margin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, to\nmaximise your profit, you need to know the local area and understand why the asking\nprice has been set at that particular amount. Look for areas that have rising\nproperty values and those that are suddenly getting large amounts of\ninvestment. It\u2019s often a good idea to check out Rightmove<\/a> to see what market\ntrends are happening in the areas that you are interested in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have\nexperience of buying and selling houses, spotting any potential problems\nbecomes a much quicker process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to\ncheck the electrics, just look at the kitchen. Look at where the electrics are.\nIf they are too close to the cooker, for example, or to a sink, you know you\u2019re\ngoing to have to replace them before you can sell it. Then, look at the fuse\nbox. Red and black wires with a solid green earth mean that the electrics\nhaven\u2019t been replaced since 1977. Red and black wires with a yellow-and-green\nearth means that the wiring has been replaced between 1977 and 2004. Anything\nafter that will have brown and blue colouring with a yellow-and-green earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also check whether planning has been granted for extensions and other restricted developments. Go to your local authority\u2019s planning portal<\/a> and look at potential planning applications associated with the property. Don\u2019t forget to pay attention to the detail: does the planned balcony need railings, for example. These little details could end up costing you a lot of money if you don\u2019t spot them in time. You can also submit planning permission for a property you don\u2019t own, so if your property purchase is dependent on planning permission, don\u2019t wait until after the property is yours to find our that you can\u2019t actually make the changes you want to make to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are a\ncash buyer, you may be able to get a loan from your bank to renovate the house.\nLook at exactly what you need to do and then add 20% for contingency. If you\njust need to pay for materials to do the work yourself, it will likely be\nconsiderably cheaper than if you have to pay for a builder and the associated\nlabour costs as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A fresh coat of\npaint can make a house look a lot better, particularly if the original has smudges and smears or includes garish bright\ncolours. It\u2019s an old estate agent adage, but it still rings true \u2013 \u2018Neutral\ncolours appeal to the majority of buyers.\u2019 If you pull back dated wallpaper and\nmake the house look bright and airy, that could add a few extra thousand pounds\nfor the cost of a couple of tins of paint and some elbow grease. If you use\ngood-quality trade paints, it might cost you \u00a3100 to do a few rooms, but the\nresults will be instantly noticeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spending a\ncouple of hours sorting out the garden and ensuring that the frontage looks\nclean and tidy means that you can make the house instantly look a lot more\nappealing and first impressions count for a lot. Pulling up weeds from a\nweed-ridden driveway, for example, or trimming back bushes to reveal a much\nlarger garden ensure that the first thing that people see is a well-maintained\nproperty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t have to cost much to landscape a garden. Turf can be bought relatively cheaply, or you could just buy a big bag of seed, rake the garden, and plant it. It may take about a day to do so, but you\u2019ll end up with a very nice-looking lawn. Gardens<\/a> help sell properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your tools\ndon\u2019t have to be expensive; you can often find second-hand tools online or from\nlocal hardware stores. If you are new to doing up a house, you may wish to\nthink about getting a job lot of tools to ensure that it doesn\u2019t eat into your\nprofit too much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While we would\nnever recommend doing your own plumbing or electrics unless you are trained to\ndo so, it\u2019s relatively easy to learn how to plaster walls and make basic DIY\nrepairs. Many of these jobs can be done by specialists, of course, but then you\nare paying labour costs. Replacing a piece of skirting board can easily be done\nby anyone with a tape measure, a decent saw and a little bit of patience. For\n\u00a31,000, you could easily re-plaster most of the rooms and insulate the walls if\nyou\u2019re doing it yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a similar vein, you can lay the carpeting and install all the curtain rails yourself. Fresh carpet and curtains throughout can add thousands, particularly if the old carpet was rather worn or soiled. Good insulation will also make the property more attractive and desirable, and loft insulation isn\u2019t expensive \u2013 allow between \u00a36 to \u00a37 per square metre if there is no insulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While most\npeople would agree that the classic \u201970s pine look has become a bit dated, you\ncan easily reuse old kitchen units and sand and repaint them if they are still\nin good condition. There are also companies which provide new cupboard doors\nand handles which works out considerably cheaper than replacing the whole\nkitchen when you don\u2019t need to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hiring an\nelectrician can be somewhat pricey, admittedly, but just replacing the fuse box\ncan add a lot of value to the house. Get the electrician to check over the\nhouse before you even buy it, if possible, to ensure that everything is as it\nshould be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you may be confident that you have spotted everything, it\u2019s always worth spending money on a survey<\/a>. Yes, it adds extra expense, but it also ensures that the house has been correctly valued and that there aren\u2019t any major structural issues that could eat into your profit before you even start. In addition, it gives you a bargaining chip<\/a> should there be any major issues, allowing you to force the price down and potentially increase your profit margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, you can always look to cut costs elsewhere, and using an estate agent like Yopa is a good way to sell your property without being charged extremely high rates of commission.<\/p>\n\n\nKnow what\nyou\u2019re buying<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learn how to\nspot potential problems<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Getting a loan<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Painting and\ndecorating<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Do up the front\ngarden<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Find second-hand\ntools<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learn how to do\nthe basics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reuse, not\nreplace<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Get an\nelectrician in<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Surveys are\nvital<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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