Flip this House...and live there

Remember those House Flipping Shows? You know, before the economy tanked and people could take out as many home loans as they wanted?

Back when I was an apartment dweller watching said house shows, I was captivated by the idea that an average person could buy a home for x amount, fix it up for y, and sell it for z, making a profit. I mean, it made so much sense.  Buy something for less, fix it up and sell it for more. Excellent!

When I lived in my when-we-buy-a-house-my-husband-and-I-will-do-all-these-projects-together- it-will-be-bliss stage, I seriously thought we had the skills to be some great house flippers. However, I knew that we would never ever have the kind of money or financial security to take on a second home project.

It turns out that the economy tanking was actually my ticket to house flippage, with home prices coming into a range we could consider. Unlike the conventional method of house flipping, we've chosen to buy properties we could live in and slowly fix up as we lived there, with the plan to make it worth more come sale time.  See aforementioned formula.

Here are some practical tips for selecting a home that makes a good "live-in" flip.

1) Location! If you are in a good location that makes a big difference. Know the values of other homes in the area to know if it will hold the value of improvements you do make. 

2) Assess the type of work that needs to be done carefully when you are considering buying it. Is it cosmetic? Can you do the work or would you have to hire someone? Is it major repair with the potential for other issues to surface, or is it simply a matter of elbow grease and time? Knocking out walls and changing things on that scale could kill a lot of money and your potential profit.

3) Know the amount of "handy" your spouse possesses. It's real easy to look at a house and say, oh, we could do this and this, but it won't happen if your spouse doesn't like working on things. Trust me.

4) Look at what can be re-used or sold to fund other projects. When looking at our house, I was already tallying the money I could make on Craig's list from selling half the stuff in it. Can the cabinets and fixtures be painted or do they need to be replaced? Don't forget about landscaping items like stones or pavers.

5) Re-invent existing materials. I spray painted all the shutters on the house black instead of brown, and I took my blah house to a cute vintage looking house in one day for twenty bucks. In my current house I have spray-painted curtain rods, doorknobs, track lights, appliances...no one can tell. You can save a lot of money but get a big impact.

6) Make a plan and stay with it so things don't catch up with you come sale time. Try to knock out one project a weekend, and pace your spending.

7) Learn from my blog all kinds of fun tips and tricks to save money and renovate your home!

When I look at what we stand to make on the sale of our current house, the time invested in the small projects and things I have done week in and week out over two years works out to bring in the same income as a part-time job. So if you are feeling discouraged about what you can afford, take heart, a lot of properties may look sort of tired and ugly at first, but with a little vision, lots of help from Craig's list, and some elbow grease you can make your place look great, add value, and hopefully walk away with a profit.