You may have heard the word ‘flipping’ being thrown around the investing world as one way to make an income, combined with a creative hobby. Flipping commonly refers to purchasing an item to then resell at a profit down the road when it has grown in value or you’ve increased its worth via modifications. Flipping can be done with real estate, cars, furniture and even fashion, depending on your area of expertise.

We’ve listed some of the ways you can make money via flipping below:

Real estate

You can flip real estate in two different ways:

• By buying property in a growth market that can then be resold at a higher price after holding onto the property

Or

• Buying a property below market value that requires renovating, then making improvements allowing you to sell at or above market value, bringing in a profit.

The latter is the more creative side to flipping whereby you choose how much money you put into your investment, and sway how much value you’re going to add to the property. It’s entirely up to you how much or how little you put into the property and what direction you take it in.

As with any business venture, it’s imperative that you plan ahead and account for enough time and money to put yourself in the best position for success. It could be a good idea to find yourself a mentor or someone in your network who’s had experience with house flipping to assist you with your research and planning.

Some handy tips to set you up for the best path to success include:

Choose a desirable location

Look for areas that feature rising real estate sales and employment growth, as this could indicate that the town is thriving. A large number of houses up for sale could be a red flag to be aware of before purchasing, indicating a lack of desire to live in the neighbourhood or issues within. A home that’s close to the shops or has schools nearby is also a more desirable option as it may tick boxes on the list of requirements of a purchasing small family or young couple.

Ensure the structural elements of the home are intact via inspection

The idea of flipping is to take what already exists and add to it to increase its value and improve it. Issues such as mould, poorly built structure, uneven flooring, rot, or leaks are issues within the home that are going to skyrocket your maintenance fees. To combat this, it’s a good idea to bring along a tradesman to your house inspection, such as a builder, plumber or carpenter, to check that things are as they should be.

Join a community

As it goes with most new interests, the best way to learn is by watching those who’ve walked before you. Whether it’s an in-person group that meets and has discussions or a social media group based on Facebook, asking questions and hearing the experiences of others can assist you in not making the same mistakes they may have in the past.

Furniture

If COVID19 restrictions forced you to stay home or made you re-evaluate your indoor hobbies, flipping furniture could be both your creative outlet and a way to earn some money on the side.

Whether you’ve picked up the item at a local garage sale, inherited it from a family member, picked it up from a council clean-up or have owned it yourself, you can make changes to the item to increase the value and then sell for a profit. Whether it’s a desk you’ve sanded and revarnished, a chair you’ve improved with sturdier legs or a table you’ve painted and redesigned, you can allow your furniture to be your canvas as you unleash your creative powers.

3 tips for furniture flipping:

Don’t overspend on your supplies

New paint and brushes are very tempting when beginning a new creative project, especially if you have big ideas, but keeping costs as low as possible assists your profit as every dollar counts. Keep an eye out for sales look for them when they go on sale and stock up or find versatile tools that you can use across multiple projects.

Take clear images that accentuate its unique features

Consider elements such as good lighting, clear photography, no unnecessary clutter and a final image that shows the entire item or various photos that showcase all angles.

Offer shipping

When purchasing an item, a driving factor for your potential customer could be ease of purchase. When buying from a furniture store, shipping is offered, so swaying them to buy your flipped item could come down to matching their expectations of a sale. For those that work full-time jobs or don’t have the ability to pick up an item due to their residing location, transport or personal mobility issues, offering it to be delivered to their door could be the final deciding factor to secure the sale.

Fashion

Purchasing low-cost clothes and redesigning them to flip is appealing as you’re essentially creating an original design, and if the creative juices are flowing, there’s no limit to what you can create. They have a designer-esque appeal as each item is seemingly original, one-off’s, considering you aren’t mass producing or making multiple of the same clothes, which could be enticing to a buyer.

You can find cost effective clothes at local markets, charity sales, on Facebook marketplace, re-selling apps, wholesalers and at thrift shops.

When you’re ready to flip, there are many options where you can sell your item including:

• ASOS Marketplace – The site requires a minimum of 5 items to be listed and has criteria that needs to be adhered to, to be approved. It also includes fees that need to be taken into consideration when pricing items as ASOS Marketplace enforces you pay a 20% commission.
• Facebook Marketplace – As mentioned in Making money on Marketplace, Facebook Marketplace is a great place to sell both second-hand items and flipped for value items. The relatively painful process takes only a few moments and can additionally be shared in various groups you’re a member of on Facebook for additional advertising.
• Etsy – Etsy is a large growing market of creatives where you’ll find many custom-made, original items made by creators. Those that buy on Etsy may do so for various reasons including supporting small business, looking for originality and to fulfil a collection of items they’re cultivating. They charge $0.20c to list your first item and when you sell an item, there’s a small commission and standard payment processing fee.

Got some spare time? Ready to challenge yourself? Want to amp up your savings with a fun side hustle? Try your hand at flipping something – you may fall in love with the creative process!

Important: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. Consider the appropriateness of the information in regard to your circumstances.

This story was originally published on Tilly Money. Read more from Tilly Money like top micro-investing apps.

Image: Orlova Maria on Unsplash