Is house flipping an affordable and profitable career strategy?

For decades now, flipping houses has been seen as a major money-spinner for the upper classes. But is it really something that only the “independently wealthy” amongst us can afford? Flipping houses (buying a house, doing it up and then selling it for a profit) is something that we’ve probably all considered as a career at some point. But houses are expensive, more so now than ever before.

So, is flipping houses still a viable strategy in 2022? Absolutely. If you do it right. Say you buy a house for £100,000, for example. Then spend £20,000 renovating it and sell it for £150,000. That’s a £30,000 profit. Not exactly small change. But what are the potential risks?

The risks

Buying over market value – If you’re really going your research then this should never happen. However, if you spend more on a property than you probably should have, it’s going to be a lot harder to make a return on your investment.

Fixer-upper – So many times you’ll hear of property buyers getting a property at a steal on a blind auction then walking into the property and realising it needs more work than they thought. If it’s going to take more time and money than you can afford to make it profitable then it’s simply not worth it.

Hidden costs – Hidden costs – It’s not just the cost of refurbishment you have to factor into the equation. You also need to consider property taxes, council tax, utilities, Cincinnati home insurance and so much more that they don’t talk about on your typical BBC house flipping shows.

The opportunities 

The profits – As we’ve already established, if you can find yourself a property that doesn’t need too much work that’s in a desirable area then you can make an awful lot of money. Generally, the more you spend the more you’ll make.

Tools of the trade – If you want to save a small fortune then a great way to make a larger profit is to do all of the building work yourself. Of course, this is hardly going to be realistic if you’ve never worked in construction before but if you have, sort yourself out with an SDS Max drill for demolition and a decent cement mixer and you could save literal thousands.

Rewarding work – Particularly if it’s a project you’re taking on with a friend or family member, flipping houses can be a really fun and rewarding job. There’s something so inspiring about creating something out of almost nothing and the more you do it, the better you’ll get at it. Before you know it, it might be your full-time job. And there are very few jobs as rewarding.