In a recent YouTube video, I visited a house flip in Manchester that one of my students had recently done. Doing up and flipping houses is a great way to generate capital for your long-term property investments and is an important skill for any property investor. I was really impressed with the high standard achieved with this property and, unsurprisingly, it has already been snapped up by a buyer.
The video contains important lessons for any house flipper or property investor. I highly recommend that you watch the full video (above) until the end to get the most out of it. In this article, I will summarise 3 of the property flipping lessons you can learn from this deal.
1. Provide what people want
Whatever you are doing in business, it always makes sense to find out what the market wants and then give it to them. It is no different in property investment. You are not doing the property up so you can live in it, so forget what you personally like. Find out what is popular in the area; have your target market in mind; and plan accordingly.
This flip included extending the kitchen; adding an island to it; and creating a home office. All popular features in upscale family homes. This appealed to the target demographic and helped to make the property easy to sell. If you understand your customer, you can create a property that meets their needs.
2. Location is key
It doesn’t matter how nice you make a property look, if it is in the wrong location! Buying the worst house on the best street is a smart investment if you can turn it into the best house on the best street. When you buy a rundown property, you can more easily negotiate a good price. If you know what you are doing, you can add value to the property and bring its value up to, or higher than, the other properties surrounding it.
It is essential to thoroughly research, have an excellent power team in place and get the right training before attempting this. Refurbishing a property is costly and time-consuming and requires that you know what you are doing before you get started.
3. Follow your vision
Once you have some experience, it is sometimes important to follow your gut instincts. While you should be open to advice and help from other people, ultimately it is your project and your money on the line. Have a vision and stick to it as much as possible. Push your team to find creative solutions that allow you to do what you want to do.
An example of this in the video was keeping the existing banisters that everyone else said to get rid of. By installing panels, it made them fit perfectly in the property. This is something the investor understood based on her vision, but wasn’t easily seen by other people.
If you would like to start flipping houses, or get started in property in general, why not book a ticket to my next crash course? Tickets are just £1 and you can get yours here. Look forward to seeing you there!
