I see a beautiful, white 10-bedroom villa, with a long, spacious veranda that leads to a vineyard, overlooking a flowery hillside. The birds are playing in the field, chirping my favourite tune, with crops that are gently swaying in the warm summer breeze. Life is awesome.
They say, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” When it comes to flipping houses, it comes down to this:
- Have a vision
- Be brave
- Sell for profit
What the flip?
It’s when you see that junky house or an apartment and envision something different in that space, be it new, shiny tile floors and a fresh coat of paint, or a complete and utter gutting of the space.
So you buy it, spice it up, and sell it for profit. Flipping easy, right?
Suddenly, that run-down house becomes a mansion and that dude refreshing himself with a cold beer in front of it turns into a swimming pool. At least in your imagination they do, for now…..
Here’s the bare bones of house/ apartment-flipping:
- Find cheap land/ apartment. Without a good deal, there will be no margin for profit once the renovations are complete and all the other fees are paid out.
- Don’t spend more than 40-50K. If you are flipping an apartment that is 500-800 square feet, you should not be spending more than 40-50K on the renovation before you sell or you won’t be able to sell it for a high enough price and you might lose money.
- Rent it, don’t sweat it. House-flipping is less popular in Vancouver than apartment-flipping. Developers and homeowners can usually make more money just buying and holding the land for 6-12 months or more while renting the house, and making a significant profit of the appreciation of the land.
Tip: Like anyone engaged in the intricate art of renoing, you will need a cool bookkeeper to manage your expenses, file your GST return and make sure your taxes are filed properly.
