Flipping Houses: Going the Extra Mile
Posted by JD Esajian // January 1, 2012
Flipping houses isn’t just about making an old house inhabitable – it’s about making it more appealing to buyers than any other listing. To that end, there are a few simple flourishes that you can add to your house to really make it catch a buyer’s eye. If you want to get the most out of your next real estate investment, make sure it has these fantastic features:
- Cable jacks in every room. There is nothing more irritating than having to thread a coaxial cable through closets and around baseboard heaters just to get a TV to work in a bedroom. If you’ve already stripped the walls off of your real estate investment, do your future buyer a major favor and wire all of your bedrooms and your living room with cable jacks. Installing multiple outlets might seem like a bit of a chore, but you’ll see a nice return on your property value for your efforts.
- A heated towel rock in the master bathroom. Heated towel racks work by pumping hot water through a series of hollow tubes. Plumbing a bathroom for one of these devices is as simple as tapping into the hot water and return lines. If you’re doing major pipe repairs anyway, why not go the extra mile and add a little luxury to your house?
- An intercom. Domestic intercoms are pretty nifty devices, especially in large homes. They’re a great way for a family to communicate with one another without shouting, and they can even be used to play music throughout the home. You can install loudspeakers in the family room and office walls for a few hundred dollars if your budget is tight. They’re easy to put in, and they’ll raise your property value noticeably.
These finishing touches might require a little more time and effort than you feel like spending when rehabbing properties, but when you’re trying to attract a buyer, every little thing helps. Remember, the extra mile is always worth the walk – if your feet can handle it.