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Property Flipping Tips to Maximise Returns

Property Flipping Tips to Maximise Returns
Property flipping isn't as easy as it sounds, but knowledge is power.

Contrary to popular belief, flipping houses is far more hustle than it is glamour and money. In fact, to truly cut a profit, you need to know the property flipping tips to maximise returns. Otherwise, you aren’t in it to win it.

Investing in fix-and-flip real estate can be rewarding, for sure! However, you need to do your due diligence to ensure that you maximise your returns efficiently. If you do everything correctly, you can most certainly find great success in flipping houses. 

While it can be tempting to dive in, this is a huge mistake. It is critical that you arm yourself and know exactly what you’re doing.

Top 5 Property Flipping Tips

Knowing the property flipping tips to maximise returns can make all the difference as you go through the flipping process. Home renovations certainly aren’t cheap, but there is help available in the form of renovation loans. You can also shop around to find the best prices.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the best property flipping tips to maximise returns!

1. Buffer Your Budget

It is important when flipping houses to be conservative with your budget. This is especially true if this is your first time flipping. You should ensure that you plan out your budget but still allow for changes where necessary.

Obviously, unexpected costs may come up which could force you to change directions. When you start to open up walls or continue with renovations, there are bound to be extra things needing to be fixed. You also need to consider the little things that you might forget to account for.

One of the best property flipping tips to maximise returns is to add a buffer in your budget. This way, all of the unexpected expenses are covered.

2. Be Realistic

Before you are able to successfully flip your property, you need to assess the price of your home. Then you need to figure out what you can do to increase that price. When you are able to assess the realistic price, you will ensure that you don’t blow over budget.

This is helpful as renovations are never cheap. Increasing the price is of the utmost importance to maximise your returns. After all, isn’t that what flipping is all about?

You need to ensure that you include things such as:

  • A new coat of paint
  • Installing better windows
  • Refreshing the flooring

If it isn’t necessary, you should invest your money in recent trends. Make sure you remain realistic. If your goal is to flip quickly, you don’t need to bother with massive renovations.

Simply start small and build up from there if you’re a beginner.

renovate property to increase value

3. Seek Undesirable Houses

One of the most important property flipping tips is to be savvy with the houses that you choose to invest in. When looking for houses, try to find ones with a solid foundation and structure. It doesn’t matter if they have ‘undesirable’ features such as:

  • Ugly paint
  • Unkept lawns
  • Old windows

These details are very easy to fix yet they often lower the value significantly. However, you should avoid houses with:

  • Structural damage
  • Leaky roof
  • Plumbing systems needing repair

Make sure that you view the house in person. This way, you can avoid any bad surprises.

flip house

4. Have an Exit Strategy

When flipping houses, you need to ensure that you have at least two viable exit strategies. You should also ensure that you don’t dawdle when choosing which one to execute. If you buy a house and find yourself in over your head, you will need to resell it and move on.

Yes, even if this means selling at a loss. Every investor has had to do this at one point or another.

5. Be Better Than the Competition

Try to focus on doing better quality work in order to do better and be better than your competition. It will also help the finished product become far better. You definitely don’t have to overspend.

You can do this all on a small budget and still make it superior to your competitors. One of the best property flipping tips to maximise returns is to simply be better than your competitors. A good work ethic means everything.

make money flipping houses

Property Flipping Support

Flipping houses certainly has its challenges at times. From getting a loan to finding the right property, there will be uncertain times. However, if you can make it all the way through, the process can be incredibly rewarding.

There are many great resources available for you. If you need help with securing a loan to finance your property flipping ambition, get in touch with Australian Lending Centre.

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Home Loans Bridging Finance

Top Tips for Buying Property at an Auction

Buying your property at auction
Buying your property at auction

A great way to get the home of your dreams is buying your property at auction. If you’re lucky, you may even score a great price for it. However, if you’re not experienced in buying a house at an auction, this may turn into a roller coaster ride of hell that you’ll just wish you never got on in the first place. This is where some handy tips for buying your property at auction come into place. If you do it without any experience backing you, not only do you risk losing a lot of money, but you may also have to deal with the fact that the house you had your eyes on may not be within your budget.

On the other hand, if you feel like investing in a home using an auction, you may want to arm yourself with some auctioning tips. Since the competition in Australia’s real estate is pretty hard, you won’t stand a chance if you don’t suit up, stand tall and do your research.

Here are some tips for buying your property at auction

Don’t bid before visiting the auction

Auctions aren’t always 100% sure and the ones holding the bidding will try as much as possible to make you see only what is nice and great about the house – while conveniently glossing over the negative sides.

So before bidding all confidently on an auction, make sure that you are completely aware of what you are trying to buy. Getting a home is as important as it is expensive, so you may want to find out all there is to know about the auction before placing your bid.

Ensure you visit the property prior to the auction
Buying your property at auction

Make sure you are prepared when buying your property at auction

Imagine finding the home of your dreams, bidding on the home and then realising you can’t actually buy the property. Heartbreaking. Don’t let this happen to you. Before you start attending auctions, make sure you have been pre-approved for a home loan. This immediately puts you in a better position, as you are more aware of your spending capabilities. At the same time, you want to make the process as seamless as possible.

Set your budget

Regardless of whether you have been pre-approved or not, you must ensure that you have set a budget. If you don’t want to go into personal financial bankruptcy, you may want to set a budget before confidently throwing your money at an auction. It would be very awkward if you realised at some point that you can’t afford to pay the bid. Therefore, establish the amount of money that you can borrow from the bank – or the sum of money that you already have in your possession.

Arrive early

When buying property, make sure you get to the auction nice and early. This will give you more time to assess the property. Look at the landscape, observe the competition(are they looking at the contract) and give yourself some time to calmly gather your thoughts.

Bid low and slow

Whilst there are many bidding strategies involved in buying a property, we would recommend that you start low and slow. Whilst a big bid can get things moving quickly, it may actually backfire in the long run. Big bids are uncontrollable. If the market is strong, those bids will come about anyway.  If you start bidding earlier on, and slower you are in more control of the situation. The first minute or so of bidding is typically the most nerve-racking. As such, keep the auction going to settle nerves.

Research the market

Make sure you do research on the current housing market
Make sure you do research on the current housing market

Before you attend an auction, make sure you are aware of the median house price in the location. Familiarise yourself with what has been sold in the area. Look at the size of the house, what’s nearby and how it will fit within your lifestyle.  There are many apps and websites such as realestate.com.au which have a whole database of information available at your disposal. Utilizing this information will put you in a better state to make a more informed bid.

Keep to yourself

When attending an auction, don’t spell your entire financial situation to a real estate agent. Keep information such as budget or willingness to pay to yourself.

Get professional help

You know the saying, “better safe than sorry.” A buyers agent can help you deal with the stress and jargon of purchasing a property. Of course, this may be costly, but it will potentially bag you the house of your dreams. Buying agents can bid on your behalf or assist you in understanding the auction process.

Stand confident

When you go to a job interview, you know that you need to dress properly in order to impress and act like you know exactly what you are doing – even though you may not. Well, if we were to take into consideration the top tips for buying a property at auctions, this also applies to a bid for a house. If you look confident and knowledgeable as you bid, this can actually work in your favour. Don’t be afraid to call out your bids loudly and with an ease of confidence. This will dictate that you are serious and not willing to back down.

This is how you can safely land the house of your dreams. Do you have any other tips for buying your property at auction? We’d like to hear your thoughts. Or if you want specific advice on borrowing money before you go on an auction, gat in touch.

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Bridging Finance

How a Bridging Loan can Help You Secure the Property of Your Dreams

bridge loan

A bridging loan is a temporary loan that is intended to ‘bridge the gap’ that could exist when a homeowner is still selling his house and when he is set to take another mortgage. In other words, when a homebuyer is purchasing a new home before completely selling his current house, the bridge loan can be a source of cash needed to pay the down payment of the new home purchase.

Bridging loans are supposed to use the buyer’s existing house as security. The facility can provide sufficient amount of money to fund the down payment, which is a requirement to buy and relocate to the new move-up home. There is doubt that a bridging loan can help you finally buy your dream house.

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Home Loans

Is It a Good Time to Buy Property in Australia?

australian property market

The Australian property market is not expected to drop, but it is projected to remain steady all throughout this year (2011). Price tags are set to remain within their current levels but would more likely grow moderately in the next two years. This is the unanimous forecast of numerous industry analysts and observers in the country.

Housing market experts note that local property prices could remain flat or slightly rise within the coming months. However, they assert that homebuyers need not worry. Price increases across the country are still low when compared to housing costs in most other developed countries. Thus, it is still the best time to find and buy Australian properties.

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Investment Property Loans

Suburbs Where it is Cheaper to Buy Than to Rent

reduce mortgage repayment

Australian Lending Centre uncovers a number of suburbs in Australia where it is more affordable to buy property than rent.

According to research by property specialist RP Data, there are 74 suburbs across Australia where the monthly cost of renting is higher than that of a mortgage repayment. This is split respectively between regional and metro areas.
While the news is good for buyers, the report will set off alarm bells for tenants who are currently renting.

RP Data national research director Tim Lawless said, ”The effect of these combined factors means that renters are now doing their sums to determine whether paying off a mortgage is actually going to be cheaper than paying a landlord.”

Chris Riotto of the Australian Lending Centre has commented that; ”Low interest rates and current Government incentives are positive factors for Australians looking to buy a property and now with this new information on areas where it is cheaper to buy than rent consumers should definitely be weighing up their options’.

If you would like to talk to someone today about getting a mortgage or refinancing do not hesitate to contact us here at the Australian Lending Centre where our mortgage team will run through the options that may be available to you.

Call us on 1300 138 188 or simply fill out an express enquiry form on this page of our website.

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Home Loans

Property Market Strong – Sell Now

Strong Australian Property Market

Property markets are booming ahead of the spring selling season, however analysts warn that the selling blitz may be a sign that vendors are making a move ahead of an expected hard selling season ahead.

Saturday, 28th August saw agents in Melbourne sell a massive $341.9 million worth of property, which cleared 70% of the 658 properties up for auction, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.  Melbourne’s most expensive property sold was a four-bedroom, family property at Ivanhoe that went for $4.3 million.  The cheapest was a three-bedroom house at Rockbank that went for $237,000.

Sydney auctioneers cleared 73% of their 316 listed properties, with the most expensive being a six-bedroom federation-style home in Burwood – selling for just under $4.2 million.

In Brisbane, a less conventional market, 49% of the 58 properties for auction were cleared, which was up from 12% of 50 properties this time last year.

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Debt Management

The Unstoppable Australian Debt with No Solution In Sight

consolidation loans

It is becoming alarmingly apparent that more and more Australians nationwide are falling into the household debt. With ever-increasing interest rates, mortgage repayments are becoming unmanageable and daily living costs are soaring.

Managing Director of the Australian Lending Centre, Chris Riotto, asserts, “We are receiving an influx of customers who just can’t afford to sustain their increasing mortgage repayments and keep up with household costs.Although these people initially had sufficient incomes to meet their repayments, because inflation is now increasing to an unmanageable point, they are now finding it virtually impossible to stretch their incomes enough to make ends meet.”

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News

Rent Prices Soar to New Heights

short term loans

Frightening new statistics suggest rent prices are set to rise by up to 50% over the next four years. A new study from Australian Property Monitors (APM) has suggested these figures are very real predictions for the immediate future.

“This is not good news for renters … we advise renters to lock in their current arrangements for as long as they can,” APM general manager Michael McNamara cautioned recently. These alarming predictions may suggest that renting will match that of mortgage repayments.

For those unable to afford a mortgage and have alternately turned to renting, it provides a very worrying picture for the next five years. This can only serve to put increasing pressure on living arrangements, with young people moving out of home feeling the brunt of the rising costs.

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Interest Rates

Homeowners Sigh Breath of Relief as Interest Rate Rises Halt

Interest Rates Halt

Homeowners Australia wide have sighed a breath of relief this month, as the Reserve Bank did not raise interest rates. There has been an ongoing climb in interest rates, with 12 steady rate hikes since 2002. This month signals the first time the RBA has remained static in 6 years.

As Icap senior economist Matthew Johnson discerned recently, “The bond market is saying pretty strongly that the RBA is not going to raise interest rates”. This is welcomed news for home owners struggling under the increasing pressures of mortgage repayments.

The stresses of mortgage debt is a wide spread problem across the nation, with homeowners’ living budgets suffering as they struggle to meet house basic repayments. The end to the rate rise crisis momentarily gives a cautious optimism for Australians.

If you are struggling under the rate rises and are falling into mortgage debt, ALC can help refinance your repayments into one easy monthly sum. For more information on the options right for you call us now on 1300 138 188.
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Home Loans

Selling Your Home or Investment Property

selling your investment property

Congratulations on the prospective sale of your property. It is often an exciting and yet stressful time. Let’s face it, putting your property on the market is a big step.

So tell me, why are you selling?

There are many reasons you could be selling your property, do you want to upsize? Maybe you want to downsize? Perhaps you are finding the burden of your existing mortgage just too much?

If you are struggling with your current monthly commitments and need short term funds to help you over the hump until your property sells, call us now on 1300 138 188 for a confidential enquiry with one of our team.

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