The past few years have seen a significant increase in the number of people flipping houses in the UK, thanks to the potential to make a sizable chunk of profit quickly and (relatively) easily. But is it right for everyone?
What is house flipping?
Essentially, flipping a house refers to buying a house (usually at a low price) and renovating it to sell it on for a profit. Often, houses bought to flip are in need of some serious renovation so can be bought at a very low price. House auctions are a great place to start looking for a house to flip but remember that you will have a contractual obligation to complete the purchase once you bid. To make sure everything is in order before you buy, solicitors can complete a legal review of an auction pack to make sure there are no potential issues. You can find local solicitors easily by doing a quick online search for Ascot solicitors, for example.
Flipping a House, Step by Step:
1. The first step in flipping a house is to find your property. It’s very important to do your research on an area and a house before you make an offer. If you’re buying in an unfamiliar area, you’ll want to check out the surroundings and look for schools, access to shops and so forth. These will mean that there should be a steady stream of potential buyers waiting to snap up your property once it’s finished.
2. Before you buy a house, it’s also important to work out your finances. As a rough guide, https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/cost-flip-house/. However, there are other costs involved, too, including stamp duty when you purchase the house and the estate agent fees when you sell the house. Make sure you’ve got enough to cover all of these costs before you start planning, and leave yourself a bit of a safety margin too.
3. Invest in surveys of the property before you buy. That should save you from any nasty, and expensive, surprises such as roof repairs, or cracks in the foundations. If you’re buying a house at an auction, you can request an information pack about a property, but it’s also a wise idea to contact a local solicitor who can perform property searches to determine if you should go ahead with the sale. A firm of Ascot solicitors, for example, can offer searches with a quick turnaround to help inform your decision.
4. Work out how much renovation the property needs. You might decide to offer the house completely finished, especially if you’re planning to rent it rather than sell, or you might go for a fairly blank canvas that the new owners can personalise. This will impact how much you’ll need to spend.
- Once you’re happy with all of the above and you’ve found your perfect property, you can get started. If you’re experienced in performing renovations, then you can do some of the work yourself to save time, including painting and decorating, but you may need to hire professionals to do jobs such as plumbing and rewiring.Once you’ve done all of the hard work, it’s time to sell the house and move onto your next project!
