Flipping a house isn't what it's portrayed as on reality TV. Flipping a house can be rewarding and a good investment, but you need to be prepared for unexpected problems, increased budgets, time-consuming mistakes, extended renovation periods, and problems selling on the market. Find out what it's really like flipping a house according to people who've done it. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
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“Flip or Flop” is not only the name of HGTV's most popular home renovation show, it also speaks to the realities of home flipping.
Buying a home, renovating it, and reselling it is either a success or a failure, and if it's the latter, prepare to take a financial hit.
But that's not stopping people from flipping homes: Citing real estate data firm Atom Data Solutions, New York Times reporter Rhonda Kaysen reported that U.S. homeowners flipped 217,000 single-family homes or condominiums in 2017, the most in 11 years.
But flipping a house isn't as easy or quick as it's portrayed on reality TV. We spoke to several people who have flipped houses multiple times, and many of them said the real timeline for flipping a house is longer than it's portrayed. The consensus is that you need to be prepared for the unexpected, especially budget overruns.
You also need to learn the hard lessons from your mistakes: One home flipper spent an inordinate amount of time stripping wallpaper from his kitchen, while another didn't check how the seams in his laminate flooring would fit before buying it, leading to complications during installation.
Then there's the housing market, where homes you resell may take longer to sell or may not sell for as much as you expected, reducing your profits.
But that doesn't mean flipping homes isn't rewarding or a good investment, especially for those who love it.
What is house flipping actually like, according to the home flippers themselves?