Kitchens are one of the rooms in a home that attract a lot of attention – people seem to congregate to the area where food is made! Whether you have a lot of space to work with or are dealing with a tiny kitchen room, it is one of the areas that can add a lot of value to your flip project. You need to be careful when considering kitchen renovations for a flip, however, as this is one of the rooms that can eat up a lot of your rehab budget if you don’t watch out for common pitfalls.
Brand new custom built cabinets will eat up a lot of your construction loan, and may send you back to your private lender for more money, reducing the profit you can turn off of the flip. Instead of spending your rehab loan on all-new cabinetry, consider painting or resurfacing what is already there. If cabinet boxes are in good shape, you can also try replacing the doors. For a kitchen with cabinets that are already decent, a simple update is easy – just switch out the hardware for something more interesting for a high-end look.
Not everyone can afford granite or marble counters, so use your rehab loan from a private lender to fund something different for countertops. Synthetic materials have been updated and upgraded to add a classy, long-lasting look. Tile, or wood, are other great options that come at a fraction of the cost of real stone.
A similar philosophy holds true for flooring materials – laminate looks quite nice, and can be a great alternative to more expensive hardwood. Tile, whether it is ceramic or another material, or a vinyl floor can also look nice in a kitchen. Just stick to basic colors and patterns to ensure a wide variety of potential homeowners will be happy with the look of the floor, and to keep your flip from appearing dated.
Stick to the basics for appliances. Many homeowners like to buy their own brand-new appliances fit for their specific lifestyle needs, so that top of the line fridge you buy with your rehab loan might not even be what they want! Save those dollars from your private lender for another area of the house.
Choose your materials and projects wisely and your construction loan will stretch a long way!
If you are ready to take on a new rehab challenge, and need funding, Center Street Lending can make it happen. We lend in CA, AZ, WA, CO, UT, TX, VA, MD, FL & NC, up to 80% of the property purchase price as well as 80% of your anticipated rehab costs. Give us a call today at 800.208.1803, or request a no-obligation quote online. We use a simple, streamlined process, and can fund your project in as little as 24-hours!
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