Put simply, property flipping is the art of buying houses on the cheap, doing them up and then selling them on for a profit. It can be a risky business, especially if the house market is volatile but with practice and a few simple tricks, it can be quite easy to make a profit on sale.

To get started, you might like to consider remortgaging your own house or apartment to raise the deposit for the second. You can get some preferential rates if you choose a company like https://altrua.ca/ who can help you with your finances too. Alternatively, you can move into the property you plan to flip, although beware that you will inevitably end up living on a building site.

Always Start Small

Though you might like to aim high in your usual investments, property flipping is a game where you start slow and small. The bigger properties might have more potential for profit but they also come with a lot more work and a lot more risk – not to mention a much bigger cost.

For your first project, pick a property that could do with some TLC but doesn’t have any massive problems. This way you can do most of the work yourself and the cost won’t be too high either. As far as you can, avoid any property with significant structural damage as this is way too risky for novices and has caught out plenty of experienced property developers too!

Put Profit First

When you get into a property, it is all too easy to either under or over improve it. This is because you are used to renovating properties for yourself rather than for profit. So, you need to find a balance between what will make the house more likely to sell and what will be a detail too far.

A good example might be light fittings. They will make a big difference to the rooms when you show the house but could set you back a lot of cash. Where you might go for something extravagant, think about your profits and choose something simple, elegant and minimalist to suit the vast majority of viewers. Remember: this isn’t going to be your home.

Don’t Forget About the Holding Costs

Improving a house is not a free game and you will have some costs while you work such as the mortgage repayments, utilities and workers fees. Again, this is about balance so it may be more cost effective to get some builders in for a week than it would be for you to plug away for several months.

Refurbishing, renovating and sprucing up a property all take time and money but they also require some experience. While you might be quite happy to paint using a roller, if you’ve never plastered before, now probably isn’t the time to experiment if you can’t afford it. Getting the finish you want to achieve the profit you want will require some investment but you certainly get what you pay for.