Flipping heck!
Flipping is a term that is more common in the US than in the UK, and refers to the tendency of professional property developers to buy cheap, run-down properties, do them up and then sell them for a profit. It sounds like it should be an easy way to make some cash, until the housing market falls apart!
I have a friend who would have been described as a flipper, but now he has had to resort to renting out some of his properties because they just weren’t selling – even though the last thing he wanted to do was become a landlord, it’s better to get some return on your investment than to have property sitting empty! I even tried to persuade him to convert one particularly large property in a youth hostel, something like the auberge de jeunesse barcelone that I stayed in recently, but I don’t think he appreciated my joke.
He is however, finding some similarities between fixing up properties for sale and fixing them up for rent, especially in the interior design. Renters are becoming more and more discerning these days, as it is seen as less of a temporary measure and more of a long-term step. Decent kitchen fittings and modern bathrooms are a must, and the colours should be kept neutral. No renter wants to live with someone else’s taste, even if it is just for a year.
He toyed with the idea of using a letting agency to take care of the few properties he had sitting empty, but baulked at the fees and decided he could do just as good a job himself, provided he vetted his tenants carefully. After all, his “flipping” career has allowed him to quit full time work, so being a landlord has actually given him a little hobby to keep him busy, while the housing market struggles.
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