Maybe you’re counting down the days until your retirement, or you’ve recently told your boss that this will be your last year of work. However, you’re wondering what you can do to keep your nest egg from shrinking. Flipping homes is one exciting option! Working with the real estate agents at the Mary Ellen Vanaken Team can help you get started as an investor. In the meantime, here are a few steps you’ll have to take if you hope to flip your first property.

Identify a Neighborhood

Identifying which neighborhood you should invest in is your first big decision. Which qualities should you be looking for? Mashvisor recommends researching properties in neighborhoods with increasing employment rates, diverse job markets, growing populations, low crime rates, and good public schools. These neighborhoods are more likely to be popular amongst home buyers.

Choose a Property

 You’ve selected a neighborhood that seems promising - but now, you’ve got to narrow your choices down to a specific property. To get expert advice, seek out insight from an investor-friendly real estate agent who has worked with flippers before. But how can you tell which properties might be worth investing in? You’ll need to keep an eye out for some key features. CenterStreetLending recommends avoiding homes with trendy designs, which could eventually go out of style and require more intensive renovations. You should also avoid homes with major structural issues or foundation problems, so pay close attention during the home inspection.

Get a Mortgage

You might assume that you have to pay in cash for an investment property - but this is not true! You can actually take out a mortgage on a home that you plan to flip. However, you still have to go through the approval process and make sure that you meet certain qualifications. You can start by getting in touch with a few different lenders to find the best possible rates. Be ready to pay a large down payment, possibly more than twenty percent. If you’re purchasing an investment property, your lender will need to know that you’re fiscally responsible.

Crucial Home Improvements

When you’re flipping a home, you want to ensure that all of the money you spend will come back to you in financial returns by the time you make a sale. But if you want to entice buyers who will happily pay a high asking price, you need to invest in the right improvements. You will definitely want to focus heavily on remodeling your bathroom with modern fixtures and updating your kitchen. As you plan out your kitchen renovation, make sure to include a range hood in your design - this will be especially enticing for passionate home cooks, as this fixture will vent smoke, odors, and grease to purify the air.

Marketing Your Property

Today, you can do more than put up a “For Sale” sign when you’re ready to list your home - you can advertise your property online, too! For example, if you want to market your property on social media, you can create a digital banner to accompany your posts. Some banner templates are free - you can then customize this free template with the text, colors, and fonts that you want, as well as animation and video elements!

Yes, flipping homes is a major undertaking. Like any other investment, you need to be prepared and do your research before you make this big financial commitment. With these tips, you’ll have a good understanding of everything that goes into flipping and selling a property.

 Are you ready to start investing in real estate? The Mary Ellen Vanaken Team can help you begin your journey! Head to our website to schedule a call with us today.

 Image via Pinterest. Article via Brittany Fischer.