Plan For Your Flip
Ok, so you have spent the last few months watching home flipping shows on TV and you are now ready to try your hand at flipping a property. Great! The more people are interested in real estate the better the market will be, but here is something to keep in mind. Flipping real estate is not as easy as it may seem. Obviously television shows you the success stories. It makes for good programs. But there is a lot more to flipping a home than simply buying it, throwing on a coat of paint and selling it for twice what you paid for it. Essentially what is happening here is you are prospecting in the real estate market. you are making a gamble that you will be able to buy a home for less than what it’s worth, make a few changes and sell the home for more than what you paid plus the cost of renovation.
Now, one of the most important things to remember is that in real life not everything goes according to plan, and things take time to do correctly. To make a success of a home flip an investor needs to prepare a financial plan that is all-encompassing. They must take into account closing costs, mortgage costs while the home is being renovated, the cost of the renovation and materials and many other small variables that have a huge impact on the bottom line. Renovating a home, if you are doing it yourself; is a full-time job in itself. Can you afford to take the time away from your regular job to fix the property? If not, can you afford a contractor? Also, it can take a long time to find a property that is right in terms of necessary work and proper price. Homes listed below their actual value are difficult to find and when they do become available, they are usually snapped up fairly quickly.
Time is of the essence when flipping a home and every day that the home does not sell costs the owner more money. Costs can pile up quickly, especially where structural repairs to the home are required. Renovations have a habit of costing more than expected and there are always those little things that pop up during home renos that need to be done. Lastly, make sure you have purchased a property that is re-sell able. In order to compete a home must be comparable to the others that are available in it’s area. If it would cost too much to bring it up to par then you will need to find a different property. Cost evaluation is extremely important and you must be aware of what your bottom line is. If you operate with the bottom line always in mind then the investment should be less stressful.
Carey Frankel is a real estate agent and associate broker serving the Jacksonville, Florida real estate market. For elite service and accurate information on Jacksonville Homes contact Carey or visit online at www.frankelrealtygroup.com
Preparing For Summer Shows
The summer season is traditionally the period in which there is the most action on home markets. Summer is an ideal time to move as there are usually no weather concerns and children can be moved and registered in new schools by September. This makes it vitally important when selling your home in the late spring and summer season, to make sure that your home has a positive presence on the local real estate market and that it is ready for showings.
Selling in summer also presents some concerns as more of the property will be under scrutiny. This is especially true is kids are part of the equation. in preparing for a summer showing it is easiest to divide the outside tasks from the inside and concentrate on each in turn.
- Outside - The exterior of a home is vital to any home show as first impressions are an extremely powerful thing. The outside will be the first things that people see and decisions can be made strictly on this presentation. Take some time to check out the other homes that are on sale in your area and what they appear like from the street. Once this is done you now have a standard that you should try to exceed in order to bring the buyers to your home. The best possible situation is that buyers take one look at the home’s exterior and forget about the other homes that they have seen. In order to achieve this the yard will have to be spotless, with neatly trimmed lawns and beautiful colorful gardens. The yard should be free of debris and any garbage and any decks should be clean and scrubbed of mildew. Putting a fresh coat of paint on the home never hurts the appearance and the same holds true for any exposed wood accents. Wood porches and decks should be power washed to remove any grime and stained.
- Inside - If the outside of the home is impressive, the inside should be stunning. Cleanliness is the absolute key for home interiors. Any mess can and usually will be greeted with disdain by buyers. Remember that when buyers are looking at home they are usually doing mental subtractions from your asking price as they view the home. Any negatives will quickly be subtracted. Outdated appliances and fixtures are important things and they can really bring down a home’s presentation value. Updating all older items (save for antique furnishings) can help any home to show better. If there is any questions about what to leave in the home and what to get rid of for the show you can always consult your realtor or a professional home stager.
Any home show, to be successful must combine the interior and exterior of the home into a comprehensive and collected package that shows it’s value to the buyer without having the price questioned. Essentially you would like the buyer to walk in and view the home and ask “To whom shall I make out the cheque?” Good Luck!
Reed Brinton is a experienced and professional realtor who is part of a five-generation tradition of service in <a href="http://www.brintonrealty.com/">Kansas City real estate</a>. To view available homes in Kansas City, check out our <a href="http://www.brintonrealty.com/home_search_frame.shtml">Kansas City MLS</a>. If you have any questions please give us a call or visit us online at www.brintonrealty.com
Common Things Sellers Overlook
In a typical real estate sale there are quite a few things that a sellers needs to think about and remember to do. At many shows the seller is anxiously rushing about trying to make sure that everything is taken care of before the buyers and their agent arrive. Unfortunately last minute is never the right time to finish everything up and it is easy to overlook small things that may make a difference to the buyers. Certain aspects of our home never seem to concern us as they are simply a part of the way we live our lives day in and day out. In selling a home, we have to go outside our daily lives and pay special attention to those things that we seem to miss when preparing for a home show. Let’s have a look at a few of these things.
One thing that we hardly ever notice about out homes is the particular way it smells. Far from it, we simply don’t think about it unless there is a particularly strong smell in the air that day. However, you do notice smells when you enter someone else’s home right? I am not talking about an overpowering stink, far from it; simply the smell that our homes possess. Each family will have a smell that is simply “them.” In getting a home ready for sale one should try to make the home smell as neutral as possible. This means refraining from cooking strong smelling food and perhaps doing something with the beloved family pet.
Another big mistake is assuming that the buyers will not notice a dirty carpet or dust. Every aspect of the home is now on display and open for critique. Any areas that are left untended will add to the buyer’s list of things that they can use to bring your asking price down. In an ideal situation the buyer would not be able to find anything that could justify a lower offer and so to achieve this, you must think like a buyer. Spend time with your realtor before a show happens and ask them what they would point out to a client who was interested in your home if they were not representing you.
Bob Nachman is a REALTOR specializing in Arizona real estate. Bob has extensive training in the world of real estate and is dedicated to providing customers with an elite level of service and information. For more info on Arizona homes and properties contact Bob.
