EveryHome agent and resident home-flipping guru Jen Kuznits has enjoyed a lot of success flipping homes alongside her husband, Tamir. But it’s a tough industry, and not every home is a slam dunk! Here, Jen shares a few things that she wishes she would have known:
We once bought a ‘3 bedroom 2 full bathroom’ condo in Philadelphia. We bought it for $197,000. Everything indicated that after putting in a new kitchen, bathrooms, flooring and paint, we could sell if for just under $400,000. Turns out, someone had subdivided all the larger condos, and it wasn’t reflected in the public records. As a result, we ended up with a 1 bedroom, 1 full bathroom space. Thankfully, it had been recently renovated, but that was the first time we lost money on a deal. We sold it for $205,000, but after taxes, and Realtor fees, we took a hit.
When buying at sheriff sale, or auction, you typically don’t have access to the property. You can look up neighborhood comparables, you can see the exterior and the kind of condition it was kept in, and you can also see the public records. Typically, public records is correct… but not always!
Another tip is to always keep an eye on the neighbors. Even if you purchase in a great neighborhood, there’s always the chance that one or two of the neighbors have unkept landscaping. One time, we purchased in a nice community and the home had the square footage to command a high price, but two of the neighbors were eyesores. One was just overgrown and dirty, and the other neighbor had an old junked-up car on display. We figured a new gourmet kitchen would outshine their yards, but it didn’t. We still made money, but had to lower our price significantly.