Your title refers to this as a "flip opportunity," indicating that you want to make money off this purchase. I'm kind of surprised that you're asking for such basic suggestions about cosmetics, making me think you've never flipped a house before. If you put $60,000 into the house, will you be able to turn a $200,000 house into a $350,000 house to make it worth your money and time? I'm just making a wild guess about the value of the house. Care to elaborate?

We have not. It is not a $200,000 house. Or neighborhood.

I don't know where you live but $50,000 to $60,000 for what you say will be an extensive renovation is really not a lot of money.

What $50-$60,000 can buy depends a lot on the area, whether the OP intends to do the renovations himself, etc. Also, if profit is the motive, the money invested in the house needs to be substantially less than the profit on resale. Not knowing the value of the house or resale potential, it's hard to judge whether $50-$60,000 is a lot or a little. If the OP pays $100k for it, invests $60K in renovations, and sells the house for $175,000, that $15,000 profit seems like a bad deal for the OP. Numbers would help.

Am hoping you had the house inspected. If so, what are the most important items on the inspection list that need to be dealt with? Would suggest you take care of any structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical repairs first.

People always underestimate the cost of renovations and if you pln DIY do you hve those skills since this all needs to be done to code not pretty stuff hiding junk, Flipping houses is not a simple thing and ROI is a must . I have no idea about the actual guts of the house like hring, electrical the roof for sure . Too many unknowns to really help .. My advice is also not too different from the rest of the homes or it will not sell.

Any updates from the original poster?

Yeah, they posted a couple times yesterday.

Thanks, @beesneeds, I see their posts from yesterday now.

I almost missed it too. But it looks like they have made progress in estimates. I think just the cleanups and fixes in the exterior will be a great improvement.

I think dormers are a great idea and they could open up to the rooms below and act as skylights or light wells.

My characters seem to be limited. I would like to share more information in my response.

ronnistringer, it doesn't appear that there is a limit on length of posts. I would love to hear more about your plans.

I assume you aren't spending your entire budget on curb appeal. What all needs to be done on the inside? I would think that would be higher priority. That front awning is bringing down the appeal. I would want to see the place with it gone, and explore a roof line that elevates the front vs hides it, as is we can't see the front door. A new garage door would do wonders too. So remove the awning, replace the garage door, paint, tidy the over grown shrubbery maybe look at adding flower beds.

Curb appeal fresh paint and freshly planted flowers are the standard for a RE sale and is pretty much accepted practice that buyers would expect without going overboard.

Clearly I do not know how to respond with more characters. This is my limit on characters.

I have been using the Houzz app on my phone. Will attempt the website…stay tuned.

We feel the purchase price is appropriate for our geographic location (less than $15,000). We have had a licensed inspector and contractor look at the property. The house has been vacant for nearly 4 years. The kitchen and bathroom are complete renovations. The roof, windows, siding, and HVAC will also need to be replaced. The initial estimate is $50,000-60,000 as I mentioned earlier. Other similar houses in this area are selling for $90,000-100,000. We have never done this before, but want to learn. I reached out to this advice board for suggestions and feedback and appreciate each response.

We feel the purchase price for a 3 bedroom/1 bath home on a little less than an acre lot (less than $15,000) is appropriate for our geographic location. We have hired a licensed inspector to inspect the property and gotten an initial estimate from a local contractor. We were told the house has good bones and is a good investment. The initial estimate is $50,000-60,000. The kitchen and bathroom are complete renovations. The roof, windows, siding, and HVAC will need to be replaced. My husband and I will do the demo, paint, and landscaping. Similar homes in our area are selling in the $90,000-100,000 range. We have never done this before, but feel this is a decent opportunity to learn. I reached out to this group for advice, suggestions, and feedback... each response is appreciated.

It honestly sounds tight given the extra cushion needed for reno costs. Not exactly a cosmetic flip. If you're in for 75K so only 15K profit at the low end?

Do similar houses all have new windows and siding?

Research Roof Maxx or similar roof restorer that is applied to an old roof.

Look at lisedv's gray with white trim paint job. Simple and cute.

You have experience with DIY so that helps a lot.

I don't think making 15G off the flip is too bad. After all, the point seems to be to get the eyesore house that has been vacant for years turned into a nice looking occupied house again. It does not seem to be to make a business or max profit out of the flip.

I don't see where the OP actually specified their objectives. We need to know this to give meaningful feedback.

If the objective is to make money, a $15,000 profit is very small for the huge amount of labor, time, and stress this project is going to involve. There are easier ways to make $15,000.

If the objective is to get rid of the eyesore and you have an extra $60,000 available, personally I would move if there are suitable houses available in a better area. If land in my area were $15,000 an acre (where I live it's $60,000), I would demolish the house, create a park-like setting, and resell the land later for a profit, perhaps when you want to move and need to raise cash. I fantasize about buying my next-door neighbor's house and demolishing it.

I fear you're getting in over your head, but you sound young and energetic, so I guess it could be a fun project. Still, if you have not yet bought this house, I think it would make more sense to invest your $60,000 in something simpler and let someone else flip the house. A completely renovated house might attract the kind of people you wouldn't mind living across from.

If the house has been listed at MLS and you'd like to share a link, we could take a closer look at it.

If the deal was attractive to experienced flippers, it would have been snapped up in the last four years, and resold quickly. Sellers can only sell where and when there is actual demand. Experienced flippers know their market and the selling price. They remodel quickly to the local market price with a reasonable profit for their work.

OP states the house has been vacant 4 years, not that it has been on the market 4 years.

Thank you all again for your feedback and suggestions. The history of this property has been quite a whirlwind. As it stands now it is about to be released from an FHA government lein. And treadsoftly, you may be right, we may get in over our novice-flipping heads. Because we have lived across the street from this house for almost 30 years, the desire to make it look like a warm and welcoming home may be our motivation in purchasing it. Of course making a profit is also attractive, but not the only reason we are interested in the endeavor.

I can see how emotion plays into this, not a business decision. You would not consider this if it weren't across the street. Only you know the neighborhood. A high demand neighborhood for homeowners gives you a much better shot at a flip.

You might be better off renovating and then rent it out. Not as high expectations in a reno for rental vs a buyer. At least you could evict them if they are problem neighbors. If you like them, keep the rate lower so they will stay.

OP, thanks for that information. Have you thought about taking the $60,000 you would put into this house, adding it to the value of your current house, and moving to a better house and neighborhood? Or do you really like your current home and neighborhood?

What kinds of remodeling and renovations have you done to your current home?

Our neighborhood is very modest. We live in Southeast Kansas. Honestly, not to sound boastful, but our house is probably the most updated on the block. We have discussed moving, but we do enjoy our location and (most) of our neighbors are like family.

Got it, that's helpful to know. I have a wild idea: buy this house with several neighbors or others. Everyone puts in a specific amount of money and labor. When the house is renovated and sells, split the profit among the investors. That way you all would be contributing to improving the neighborhood and the risks and profits would be shared.

"Experienced flippers know their market and the selling price. They remodel quickly to the local market price with a reasonable profit for their work." And their work is shoddy and mostly all for looks-a lot of sloppy white paint slapped around! it's RARE their profit isn't larger than their effort unfortunately. I think if you turn this home into a place someone will want to love and take care of you will be satisfied, even if financial profit isn't a gain!!

arcy_gw, there are a lot of flipped houses in my area. I find them uniformly . . . uniform. I hate all the gray laminate floors, white walls, white cupboards. Or black or dark gray cupboards. These gray, white, and black interiors are soul crushing.

Your house is lovely and I can understand wanting to look out your window and seeing another lovely house.

Consider- Adding 10% to your budget for unforeseen issues

- Does the 50 to 60k - include electrical

- Asbestos, termites and mold - probably not since it was inspected

- Carrying costs month to month if it does not sell quickly

@treadsoftly - I live in a neighborhood where small, rundown houses tend to be torn down and replaced by huge, often ugly houses that don't fit in with the neighborhood. One such house came on the market and several neighbors did what you suggested -- they went in together, bought the house and remodeled it from top to bottom, even added on some additional space. They now rent the house to a lovely refugee family who recently arrived in the US. It was a win on so many levels. Of course I don't know how the finances worked out but it might be worth investigating.

einportlandor, that's such a good example of outside-the-box thinking. I keep saying this is exactly what we need to solve the housing crisis in this country, since the existing system isn't working for so many people. People are everything from homeless, to stuck in the wrong house with no place to go, to priced out of home ownership. I firmly believe that people pooling their resources can make things happen!

My former neighbors did something similar and it brought a great family into the neighborhood. They didn’t want a tear down next door so they worked to make the house a nice “starter” home, rather than a McMansion. I love the idea of investing in your neighborhood and hope this works out for you. It’s a courageous and generous thought.

Thank you for the kind words about our home! Our renovations have been thoughtful projects.

We are loving all the feedback, sharing, and suggestions!

These stories about neighbors working together to improve a neighborhood are very inspiring! I'm so glad to hear that people can get together and do this successfully.

Update!

We are the proud owners of the house! We have already started demo! Exited to share pics!

A new color scheme would help

Try uploading the new in-progress photos again.

I haven’t uploaded any yet, but I will soon. Roofing starts Monday!

Congratulations!

Did you change the roofline? What type of roofing material did you choose?

Keep up with progress photos, and logging of materials used, it will be fun for you to look back on the project, for years to come.

I’m excited to follow your progress. Congratulations!

We are just using architectural shingles and adding a hip-gable porch roof.

Awesome. Will you be selling it or renting it out as income? It could make a difference as to which improvements to focus on.

Good point. We haven’t completely decided…leaning toward selling.

Can't wait to follow along! :)

We are cautiously optimistic and excited! Even if we don’t make a huge profit, it is a win!