Mortgage News for September 11th, 2020

Before You Attempt to Flip a House, Avoid These 5 Costly Mistakes

House flipping has been a hot trend in the real estate market for years, bolstered in part by glossy TV shows featuring charismatic personalities who earn big profits in just one 30-minute episode. However, flipping houses is a serious business: It requires knowledge, planning, and savvy to be successful. Common mistakes novice real estate investors make are underestimating the time needed to renovate a house, under budgeting the money required, overestimating their handyman skills, not knowing enough about the market to be profitable, or buying the first house they see without making an informed assessment.¹

Navigating the Housing Market During Coronavirus

With Americans spending more time at home, many families are eager to buy a house to make their own and fleeing to the suburbs where they can enjoy more space and work remotely. This demand is driving up prices and making consumers feel they must purchase now or be priced out later. Based on learnings from the early 2000s housing bubble, economists advise not investing in too expensive of a house or taking on too much risk during these uncertain times. Choose a home that you can afford today and plan to stay in for years to ride out any short-term shifts in the market.³

Sources: ¹Investopedia, ³New York Times