Make Your First Home A Flip - Part 3
If you have decided that a good way to realize your dream home is by flipping to build your net worth, you have made a good decision. Be careful though, don’t let your desire and talents get in the way of making money on your venture.
First things first!
Get pre approved for a mortgage. Once you know how much you can afford to pay for a house, plan on buying one that you can purchase for less. Don’t leave your self house poor. You will need money for renovations. If that means saving for a couple of months to buy materials, then that is what you will have to do. Make sure you have money left over at the end of the month to put back into your investment.
Don’t forget the closing costs. You will need money at closing, for your lawyer, any deed transfer taxes applicable, possible fuel adjustments, possibly a survey, and moving expenses, out of your pocket, unless you negoiate them or finance them. If you don’t know what the closing costs will be your agent should be able to help you calculate those.
Be realistic about what you can do. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can do jobs that you probably can’t or shouldn’t do. I was a contractor for over twenty years but I always hire proferssionals to do jobs that I have little or no experience at doing. I wouldn’t even think about installing a granite counter top, do major electrial work, or build a chimney. But some people would, thinking that they are saving money, when in the end, they probably have to bring in the pros to fix the mess they made, and spend twice as much.
Be realistic about your time. If you or your partner both work you will have a limited amount of time to devote to your project. Don’t forget that your relaxation and personal time is as importnat as anything else. You can burn out quickly trying to complete projects in unrealistic time frames. Figure out how much time you have per week to devote to the flip. This will help you, when viewing a property, to decide wether you have the time to complete all of the jobs that need to be done.
Be patient. It may take a while to find the house that meets your criteria, your talents and your finances. But you will find one. You are better off waiting for the right one rather than jumping into something that is beyond your means. Remember, you will not build net worth over night. It is a process that will happen if you plan properly, and execute your plan.
Bob Power has been has been buying and selling real estate for over thirty years. As a contractor, a real estate agent and instructor, he has the experience to advice others on how to do it right, and what to avoid. As well Bob is the owner an designer of Time Burst Clocks unique, hand made, one of a kind collector’s item clocks.
You can read articles on real estate, home decor, finance and more on his web site Big City Open House
Tags: dream home, flip, flipping, home, investment, money, net worth, Real Estate, renovations
