David Lupberger
www.TurnkeyProgram.com
303-442-3702

Hi, I’m David Lupberger. In this short audio recording, I will review 3 key steps that you can implement to make sure you sell your fix & flip quickly. Make sure you do these “3” things, and if you have priced your fix & flip correctly, your sales will happen within weeks, not months, no matter where you are fixing and flipping homes. The steps below will help your renovated property stand out, and create a “wow” experience for the new home buyer.

(1)First Impressions: Let’s start as if we are just driving up to the house. The property should be well-landscaped, with the lawn trimmed and in good condition, bushes cut back, and flower beds filled with flowers and fresh mulch. If there is a deck, the deck has been pressure-washed, and sealed. If there is any area where there is peeling paint, it should be scraped, primed, and painted with a fresh coat of paint. That first impression of your house should leave nothing to question. You want the potential buyer to see that the home exterior has been taken care of, and there is nothing that needs to be done.

Stand at the front door, the way a potential buyer might be standing as the realtor works with the lockbox to access the house key. There is a 30 to 45 second period where the potential buyer is looking at the condition of the front door, any windows screens that might be broken, and looking at any dust or dirt that might have accumulated on your porch. Make sure that view on the front porch is pristine. No dust, no dirt, and everything looking fresh and clean.

Let’s go ahead and step in the front door. The best sale is one that is “move in ready”. Make sure there are no elements in the house that need repairing, painting, or servicing. Carpets should be clean, hardwood floors shining, and the paint should be fresh, with no areas needing a fresh coat. A home that still has items that need to be fixed or repaired can be a signal that it has not been taken care of

When looking at potential wall finish options, always start with a color consultation. A good painter or interior designer can help you with this. Choose the right colors for what you want to accomplish in the house and create the color palette. Neutral colors are usually the best, but consult with a good painter or designer to create the color palette for the house.

There are a number of potential wall finish options:

The first one is paint. Paint is the least expensive of all wall-covering options. In addition to general wall painting, you may want to incorporate an accent wall with bolder colors. Your color consultation will help you with this. To save some money on paint, check at your local paint store for miss-tints. These custom colors were pre-mixed, but not sold and they can be purchased for big discounts.

Another option is textured paint. This provides a texture to the wall. Instructions for a textured application are included on the can and a good paint store will review these instructions with you should you have any questions.

Faux painting is another type of wall finish. With faux painting, you start with a base wall paint and then add one or more “technique” finish over the base wall color. There are many different types of faux finishes such as Patina, Faux, and Dragging.

You already know this, but when hiring a professional painter, look for someone that advertises that they provide paint and faux finishing and always ask for examples and references. To save yourself some money on the project, ask if you can do the base coat. You can always save money by doing prep work for your professional painter so just ask them what you can do to lower the cost of your project.

Plaster is also a great wall finish option. This is a textured wall, with trowel, and plaster or drywall compound over a flat wall.. You can create a plaster coat, and add a faux finish over the plaster as a potential accent wall. It looks really unique, and provides a beautiful wall finish.

Wallpaper is another option. There are hundreds of wallpaper choices, and costs will be across the board. With expensive wallpaper, consider using it on just one wall to accent and complement your other wall finishes.

(2)Renovating Your Kitchen or Bath

One of the best “wow” experiences you can create in your fix & flip is in the kitchen. Now, kitchens are the most expensive room of any house and most people think that kitchen renovations will also be a very expensive process.

I’m going to review each of the primary areas in a kitchen, and review cost saving measures that can be done in each area to save money. All of these same principles will also apply to the bathroom, so let’s review each cost-saving tip:

There are some undiscovered cost-saving gems in kitchen and bath remodeling that you may not be aware of, so let’s start uncovering some of those gems.

Let’s start with lighting options when renovating your kitchen or bath.

Here is the key point – In lighting, the best return on investment is not on the cost of fixtures, but on the fixture location. The right design makes lighting beautiful, and memorable. Ideally, you should plan for 3 layers of light.

The first layer is recessed or can lighting, the 2nd is made up of under-cabinet lighting, and pendant or ceiling mounted lighting such as over a breakfast table make up the 3rd level.

This needs to be planned out. You will overlap and customize your lighting to achieve the desired effect. Start by defining the perimeters, and situational lighting. Let me explain what that means.

Food preparation and meals may include all 3 layers of lighting when you are working in the kitchen. That is when you may want the most light.

However, if you are working on the kitchen island, or doing some dishwashing and clean-up, it may require just the recessed lighting, which is planned and positioned over specific work areas. When finishing your food preparation and clean-up, you can turn-off the overhead and pendant lighting, leaving only the under-cabinet lighting for effect.

These layers of lighting make kitchen lighting memorable and pleasurable. You don’t want people to remember the lights – you want them to remember the effect. Don’t forget to update all of your lighting. If you can’t afford to replace everything, then at least update your electrical fixtures in high traffic areas like the living room, front hall, and kitchen..There are many green options when it comes to lighting. Standard incandescent lighting is being replaced with more efficient lighting choices, such as CFL, Halogen, and LED – which stands for light emitting diode. You don’t need to understand these terms now. Just ask about these options when shopping for your new lighting. I’ll talk more about some additional green options at the end of this recording

Let’s move to the kitchen cabinetry and review some the cabinet upgrade options available when renovating kitchen or bathroom.

You can’t replace the cabinetry in a kitchen for under $1,500 unless it’s a very small kitchen so you need to get creative and think of some alternatives. Let’s review 3 possible options that you can complete for under $1,500.

If your existing cabinets are in good condition you can clean, re-oil, and polish them. This will bring depth back to dried-out wood surfaces. In addition to this, plan to replace all drawer and door-pull hardware. Stylish door and drawer-pull hardware can a simple and cost effective way to upgrade your cabinet appearance.

If your existing cabinets are not in good shape you can repaint them. Be sure to first clean, and prep them for proper paint adherence. Check with your painter for the best way to do this. He or she will have good recommendations. The surface must be clean and prepped to repaint cabinet surfaces.

You can also clean and stain your kitchen cabinets to maintain the wood look and integrity. If staining, look to darken the existing stain. Start by lightly sanding the cabinet, and clean all of the oil and dirt. Test new stain on a corner, or back of the cabinet door. Be aware of stain splotching. A professional painter can assist you with testing this option

With a good painter, and one that provides faux finishing or stained finishes, your options are all over the board. You have the ability to create painted or stained cabinetry that complements the color palette you decided upon earlier. I have worked with 2 faux painters, and was stunned with what they could create. I can’t emphasize this enough. If you can use existing cabinetry, you can create some wonderful custom finishes that are absolutely beautiful, and save a great deal of money by not replacing what is already in the house

Another interesting upgrade is to accent upper cabinets with crown moldings. Sizes will vary according to how much room above the cabinet to the ceiling you have. If the cabinets are right against the ceiling, this might not be possible. You can highlight refinished cabinets with crown trim, or with additional wood dentil trim. Any good millwork shop in your area will provide you with a large range of trim choices

So those are some of the cabinet options you have available when renovating your kitchen.

.Let’s review some countertop upgrade options available when renovating your kitchen.

There are numerous countertops materials such as:

Formica or laminate – this will be custom manufactured, by a Formica fabricator, to fit your kitchen. This is OK, but I want to review the sexier, higher priced options that will create that “wow” experience.

Ceramic tiles – can be installed over a plywood base, and cut to fit

Granite tiles – like ceramic tiles, these are installed over a plywood base, and cut to fit.

Pre-fabricated granite slabs. Pre-fab granite slabs can be purchased in different lengths to fit your base cabinets. 6 feet, 8 feet, 10 feet, or longer. Ask your granite supplier about this lower-cost option for a solid surface granite countertop. In a standard “L” kitchen, you can purchase 2 pre-fab slabs, and install them yourself. You can do the same for most bath vanities.

Costs are all over the board with each type of countertop material, but there are exceptions. For example you can find discounted materials, discontinued lines, close-out materials, and remnants.

Let’s talk about remnants, and close-out granite slabs. Size will be the biggest limitation with granite remnants and slabs. Stone fabricators who provide these countertops will have leftover remnants, but sizes will vary and might not be the right fit for your project.

Check with a local supplier, and ask them what is available. You can also ask them
if you can call their wholesaler and ask about leftover materials. Wholesalers have remnant slabs, and while they don’t sell to the general public, they will be open to a walk-in consumer who may purchase leftover granite remnants.

If your kitchen has a separate countertop and island, consider a countertop accent. Blending separate colors on the countertop and island can let you use distinct remnant or close-out materials, and save you a lot of money.

There are always discounts. Repeat – there are always discounts. You just have to take the time to look. With the right design, it can be beautiful! You are trading your time to save money by acting as your own material procurer. If you can provide all materials, you can then hire an installer or granite fabricator to complete the installation.

So those are some of the countertop options you have available when renovating your kitchen.

Now, let’s review some plumbing options when renovating your kitchen or bath.

Kitchens and baths get old and outdated sinks and fixtures need to be replaced. A key thing to consider is that with a new countertop, you can install almost any new sink you want. New sinks come with a template to assist you with cutting the countertop for the new sink installation

Once again, there is a range of choices and cost. Like most material suppliers, plumbing supply houses have items that have been discontinued, or in stock for over 18 to 24 months. They want to sell these old items. To locate these discontinued items, go to the “city” desk at any plumbing supply house, and ask to see any discounted items. They are usually placed up front for close-out. If you find something you like, purchase it, and ask your plumber if he or she can install the item for you.

Let’s go to flooring. As you already know, in completing your kitchen and bath flooring, there are a range of options:

Vinyl – while not overly sexy, there are a number of good choices. In a laundry room, or other utility room, vinyl is a solid choice, and there are a number of good vinyl selections available that look very good.

Wood Laminates – This includes pad and laminate flooring. This is the “floating floor” and provides a good solution if you are going over old vinyl, or tile. Wood laminates can be installed, with pad, directly over an existing floor. Think about how much that might save you in demo costs if you don’t have to remove the old floor. Look at this one closely because it will save you money, and speed up your renovation time.

Hardwood – both pre-finished and unfinished. To install hardwood flooring, you will in most cases remove the existing flooring, but hardwood flooring is the most popular with today’s buyers. Prefinished is the most simple to install because your floor is finished upon installation. If you want a range of color choices, you can also stain and seal unfinished hardwood. A custom floor finish with custom colors can highlight freshly painted cabinets or walls

With tile or slate, plan for a subfloor installation of ½” plywood to prevent tile cracking. This subfloor is usually glued and screwed to give the floor rigidity and prevent cracking of the tile by eliminating any flexing in the floor.

I don’t recommend carpet in the kitchen for all the reasons you can imagine, but it is an option if you chose to use it.

When installing a new floor, be aware that with wood laminates, hardwood, and tile, you are raising the floor by ½” to ¾” of an inch, or more. Be aware of the rise in floor height so that your dishwasher will fit in the allowable, remaining space. Most dishwashers have adjustable legs, but check to be sure.

These flooring materials are usually sold on a cost per square-foot basis. Costs are all over the board, but there are exceptions. Be sure to check with numerous flooring suppliers and distributors, and ask about discounted and close-out materials, and discontinued lines. Ask to see what they have so you can get the best selection.

Remember, there are always discounts; you just have to take the time to look. You are trading your time to save money by acting as your own material procurer because you are providing all the materials, and hiring an independent installer to complete the installation for you.

In addition, there are many subcontractors that will tell you what kind of prep work you can do to keep your expenses as low as possible. You may or may not want to do this prep work, but it is an option to keep costs down. Use these pros as a resource to both acquire the materials and for assistance in getting the project completed. They will help you. When you win, they win!

3. Energy Efficiency. There is a very successful remodeler in CA that uses his skills to renovate the homes he is flipping, but to also increase their energy efficiency so that the overall heating and cooling bills are as low as possible.

He begins each project with an energy audit. Using a blower door test, he determines where the home is leaking energy, and fixes all those leaks. He increases attic insulation, and then repeats the blower-door test to see how much he has tightened up the building envelope. This is straight building science, but is the way all homes will be built in the future. Start doing this with all your fix & flips now. This alone will lower heating and cooling costs by 25% or more.

When he does all of this, he keeps a list of each of his energy improvements, and lets the potential buyer know what he has done. He highlights what makes his houses different. If he includes new windows, or furnace, you can be sure that those items are on the list.

One last thing – remember the new kitchen? Include energy-star rated appliances, and in doing so, you are competing with, and beating most new homes that may have been built within the last 10 years.

Let’s do a quick summary – you want to make a solid first impression. That happens when the potential buyer drives up the street and parks in front of your house. Make the outside appearance pristine.

When stepping in the front door, leave nothing to chance. Have an integrated color palette, and make sure all walls and floors look their best.

Create a “wow” experience in both the kitchen, and any bathrooms. We’ve reviewed how to do this inexpensively. A custom kitchen or bath will differentiate you from most other home that are for sale in your neighborhood. That’s the point of all this. You want people (realtors included), to remember your house.

Lastly, provide energy efficiency upgrades that will continue to save your buyer money. You will stand out. You will also lay the foundation for future fix & flips. Buyers, and more important, realtors will look for your next fix & flip. You will get the reputation for providing good, affordable housing, at a fair price.

That is the way you build a business. Thanks for listening. If you have comments or question regarding this audio recording, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.