Buying, Remodeling & Selling your Home

When you enjoy home improvement projects, one of the best ways to make a little money on the side is to remodel and resell a home you purchased. You might do the work in just a few months to flip the home or you may choose to live in it while you work on projects for a few years before selling it and moving on to another. Whatever strategy you use, there are several things you need to consider to get the most out of your time and money.

Know what constitutes a good investment

Not every home is a candidate for a remodel and resale project. If the home is already remodeled, you won't be able to do much with it. In general, you'll want to pick a home on the low end of the neighborhood price range. This suggests that with some work, the home could rise at least to the middle of the neighborhood price range. Look for homes with surface problems that are easy to fix and lacking key features, like a remodeled kitchen or landscaped yard, which will draw buyers once they're fixed up.

Determine what projects will have the most impact

Some projects have a much greater return on your investment than others. For example, creating an addition for your home usually costs more than you'll recoup in the sale. On the other hand, outdoor landscaping can greatly affect the curb appeal of your home and significantly pay off in your sale price. Kitchens and bathrooms are other great places to focus if the existing rooms are far below the neighborhood standard. A fresh coat of paint and refinished flooring also goes a long way in making a home look ready to move into, which many buyers appreciate.

Complete improvements

Dig in on your planned projects, starting with the most invasive and working toward the surface level projects. For example, replace plumbing before putting in new kitchen counters or painting the walls. As you work inside, you can also be tackling outdoor projects simultaneously to give you a change of pace and let you get fresh air while your home is full of dust from remodeling projects. Use a wheel loader to move dirt around to create a waterfall as the centerpiece of the yard or bring in quarry stones to build a landscaped patio.

Sell the property

Once you've completed all the projects you planned and the home is ready to sell, it's time to put it on the market. Homes generally sell best in the summer, so start thinking about listing it in April or May. Setting the right asking price is one of the keys to selling in a timely fashion and getting the most you can out of the property. Look at comparable sales and adjust your asking price to reflect how your home is different from others. You can also help your home sell by staging it well with a tidy appearance and not too much furniture. Taking great photos with a wide-angle lens to put in the online listing also attracts more buyers to see the property in person.

Successfully flipping a home is all about figuring out what the typical buyer in your neighborhood is looking for. Educating yourself about recent sales and what features helped them sell equips you to make similar improvements to your home. Focus on improvements any buyer will appreciate to add real value to your home before selling it.