Oftentimes, you’d hear people say that they don’t have the time to inspect their properties. They would hire a property manager or a company to manage and regularly inspect the properties for them. This is fine, but if you are in the business of flipping properties for profit, you cannot afford to leave this aspect of your business to property managers.

Before you buy a property and attempt to sell the same, it is very important that you inspect the property first. When inspecting a property, you should ask yourself, “Do I find this place habitable?”

“Would I live in this place?”

“Does this place need to be renovated or repaired?”

How to Inspect a Property

If you think that your investment property needs major repairs or renovations, you would have to inspect the following in order to make the necessary changes:

a. Check the plumbing. Check if the plumbing works or if you need to repair or put some plumbing. Open the faucets and shower. Flush the toilet. Also, look under the sink to check if there are leaks. Take note if the water drains from the sink fast or does it take forever.

b. Make sure the appliances are functional. Go around the house and check for door knobs. Are any missing? Light the burners and turn on the oven.

c. Check the house paint. There should absolutely be no peeling walls. Make sure that the property’s paint is immaculate and the railings are not rusty.

d. HVAC. It is a great idea to check the property’s filters. It would be a good idea to change the filter every 4 months.

e. Check the carpeting. Check the carpet. There should be no holes, burns, tears or pulls in it. Repair the carpet if you find any.

photo credit: Evan Sims

f. Check the doors and windows. The doors and windows must close all the way. Adjust and fix them if they do not. Check the windows and make sure that there are no cracks or holes. While checking the windows, you might as well check the blinds. Make sure that no blinds have fallen.

g. Check the house exteriors. One of the first things that you would have to check in a house exterior is the gutters. Make sure that the gutters are not damaged or in need of extensive repairs. There should be no debris or leaves stuck in the gutters.

h. Check the power outlets. Check for loose wires and circuit breaker. Make sure that there is no damage to the power outlets or that they do not require extensive and expensive repairs.

i. Make sure that the kitchen and bathrooms are in good condition. These two rooms could break or make your sale. You cannot, however, spend a lot of money just to make or repair the bathroom or kitchen. They should have been in good condition from the time you purchased the property for flipping.

Checking these things is prudent. Make sure that you wouldn’t have to spend a lot of money just to prepare the property for your buyer.