For those of you who spend week after week in your seat watching people on cable TV seeking to successfully turn a lump of coal house into a diamond fit for middle class kings and queens, you’ve likely considered “flipping” your own home. With proper planning and attention to detail in the process, it’s a great way to make a quick and lucrative living in real estate.
Believe it or not, if done correctly and within reasonable time and budget constraints, such a project can be a great challenge and a lot of fun. For starters, the average citizen is not allowed to play with power tools on a regular basis, and Tim Allen has taught us exactly how much fun power tools can be. Remember, he also taught us how dangerous they can be. The point is, learning new things is often fun, and for many of us, using power tools is a new thing. For those of you who are experienced with power tools, there is still the potential for something interesting and new when it comes to doing real estate flips.
Even if power tools aren’t exactly your cup of tea, maybe you’ve been wanting to try your hand at creating a color scheme or a trial run while renovating your kitchen or bathroom. In addition to being a great way to have fun while making a profit, flipping houses can be a great exercise in remodeling your own home. Most of us learn by making mistakes. Isn’t it best to make mistakes with Formica or Corian(R) instead of granite countertops in our own kitchens and bathrooms?
It also gives you the opportunity to see what the things you are considering would look like in other homes before incorporating them into yours. If you are considering a certain type of laminate flooring, try it in the house you are flipping. This is the ultimate opportunity to use trial and error when creating a design and decorating plan for your home. Even better, you can make a profit while doing this work, and I personally don’t know anyone who wouldn’t enjoy making a nice profit every now and then.
Another fun aspect of speculation is that you often have the opportunity to work with people you like. It’s a great opportunity to get friends and family involved in creating a masterpiece around you. The price of their time and labor is often some good music, delicious pizza, and a few cold sodas (or beers, provided, of course, that the day’s work is done and everyone is walking home).
Even the kids can provide some help with these projects, though you have to be very careful not to let them have too much help with power tools and paint brushes. As a general rule, let older children help with landscaping projects and get someone to look after younger children (tools, fumes, and the temptation for small children may prove too dangerous to be practical).