Fabulous Flip of a Home
The definition of a “Real Estate Flip” is as follows: Profits from flipping real estate come from either buying low and selling high, often in a rapidly rising market, or buying a house that needs repair and fixing it up before reselling it for a profit as in “fix and flip.”
Being in the staging business for 11 years has presented many inquiries from investors who flip homes. It is quite an undertaking to invest the time and money to turn a dated, sometimes neglected home into one that is desirable in today’s market. By the time it comes down to staging the flip, investors either don’t want to or went over budget to invest more money into the project.
Thanks to the magical transformations on various home shows on television, staging a vacant property has been a successful marketing tool to get a house sold quickly. This can happen with the extreme flipped home or one that has been updated and refreshed. It is all about creating a lifestyle and appealing to the target market of the house.
View More great images of this home in my Portfolio Gallery
Mary Heed of Haven Homes LLC in Cornwall has been in residential redevelopment for two years. Haven Homes focuses on single-family residences within Orange and Ulster counties. I recently worked with her on a project.
Heed says, “I love to find the most run-down house and make it beautiful and functional again. It increases neighborhood property values and gets that empty property back on the tax rolls. To date, I’ve rehabbed 5 properties — 2 in Cornwall, 2 in Hamlet of Wallkill and one in Ohio.” Here’s a brief Q&A with Heed.
Q. How do you decide what extras go into the house?
A. When I design a home, I always imagine myself in the property. I’m a fan of everything having its own place, so I like to add specialty storage — for instance, a place for charging electronics or unique storage under the stairs. There is no detail too small. For families, I put a chalkboard in the kitchen to keep track of busy schedules.
Q. What made you decide to stage?
A. I’m a firm believer that staging makes for a quicker sale. I had an accepted offer on my last project in five days. Staging can create an emotional connection to the home. It also increases showings to the property as the photos of a staged property stand out in a sea of options.
Also overheard a conversation between my electrician and another flipper. My electrician took someone through my house and told him how important it was to stage a property. So many people told me it was a waste of money to stage, but when folks learn the house sold in five days, I think we converted a few of those non-believers.