Are you a house flipper or do you renovate future homes?

Whenever I start to explain to someone what we do it’s almost a guarantee that the following comment is, “So you’re a flipper…” and there is always a strange connotation with that comment.  Some may think that it is a generalization, but I actually feel that even if they don’t realize it, the comment has a negative feel to it. But its not their fault! They have been conditioned that way!

I think that the modern “fix and flip” home show has created this strange perception of house flipping.  What exactly is the definition of house flipping? I guess you could consider any house that you buy, repair and sell a flip.  But that's not really the case in today's consumer’s eye. I believe that the term “House Flipping” has become a household term for people who buy a property and strive to keep their expenses as low as they can.  They do it as fast as possible, pick predictable finishes that are inexpensive and unload it to the highest bidder.

They also do their best to leave as much as possible and work within the perimeters of the current house. Let's be honest: this is what most home shows do.  The production bids out all the work and picks the cheapest bid. They create drama around one partner in the business trying to spend a lot of money on finishes, then the other argues that its too much and they settle on the cheaper decision to help the bottom line.  They leave old wiring, they don't touch hvac systems, they keep most the plumbing in the walls. You get the drift. 

I like to think we do the exact opposite.  Yes we still buy as low as we can because let's face it our business is only as good as the buy.  With that said, once we start to dig into a property we always have aspirations of not going “too far” but inevitably end up doing exactly that…  If we touch a room we end up gutting it to the studs. Everything gets updated. Yes we like to save what we can in the house, mainly to avoid being wasteful, but if its a better choice for our future buyer to just rip it out and replace it that's what we do.  We care about our reputation, our customers, and most of all our product.

To me every profession comes down to one thing.  Customer Service. We are all in the business of customer service whether you like it or not.  Are you a doctor? Then you have a customer. Are you a teacher? Then your customer is just 3 years old instead of an adult.  It all comes down to taking care of your customer even if you don’t even know them yet. Think ahead and create a home. Don’t just flip it - instead lets flip the consumer mindset one home at a time by renovating them.