One way to make a quick buck and have fun doing it is flipping real estate. Rehabbing properties involves buying a home that can use a little work and renovating it to look and feel modern and up to date. Many people wonder if flipping real estate is something that can be done on the side as a second career. While it is possible, you’ll want to consider the following:
• Rehabbing properties requires time. If you’re considering flipping real estate, you need to prepare for a time commitment of at least a couple of months. You’ll need time to find properties, purchase one, make the necessary changes and sell it. While it can be done fairly quickly, you won’t be able to devote all your time to flipping, which means the process may be slower than you’d expect.
• You may have to hire contractors. One way to lose money fast on a flip is to hire contractors to do a lot of the work. If you’re flipping real estate during evenings and weekends only, you may have to hire contractors for tasks that take more time or labor than you can spare.
• Flipping real estate is not particularly time sensitive. If you don’t mind the wait, renovating properties isn’t like other real estate transactions. In theory, you can take as much time as you want – as long as you can pay the maintenance costs for the property. If you didn’t pay for the entire property up front, you’ll also have to consider the mortgage.
• Flipping real estate is not particularly family-friendly. While you can involve your spouse or siblings, you can’t exactly bring children around a construction site. Are you willing to sacrifice time with your family in order to make the flip happen? It depends on your personal preferences, but you may not want to give up family time in order to renovate the property.
If you’re looking for a second career, real estate may be a good option for you. Depending on how hard you’re willing to work and the time frame you’ve outlined, real estate flipping may be a good choice for you. However, before you jump into a major project like flipping you should consider your situation and decide what’s right for you.
