Consistent Finishes on your flips?

Question

So we are on our 3rd flip in the last 12 months and plan on stepping up the volume somewhat.  How many of you guys/gals use the same finishes on every house.  Im talking using the same cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures, flooring, tile, paint colors.

To me it would just make the project go a lot smoother.

Now for what my other half thinks!!  She has the opinion that every house is different and she wants to pick out all that stuff on every house.

What do you guys do?

Will Skillman · Answer

I think it depends on the price point of the house.  We use the same finishes for all of our rentals and lower end homes, however, most of our flips have custom finishes.  We build the cost of design into the budget.

Design is a HUGE competitive advantage for us because most flippers in our market go into Home Depot (or similar) and pick off the shelf.  Our houses typically sell faster and for a higher price than the comps.

Spend a little time on design and have some fun with it.

Chris C. · Answer

We have a very specific materials list.  We spent a good deal of time picking out finishes that look higher end at a reasonable price.  There is no way I would do it any other way.  We target a very specific retail price point so it makes it easier.  We have actually developed a bit of a reputation and agents now know one of our homes as soon as they walk in.  Most of our properties sell for a premium and our average days on market have been less than a week over the past year.  We have had several under contract in less than 24 hrs.

John Mathewson · Answer

Exactly. It's the best of both worlds to me. keeps material purchasing simple and then i'm only having to pick out maybe 2 bathroom tile choices each time. Keeps it quick and efficient but still my houses are different. Ahh the one thing I forgot was that I do change the exterior paint on each house (if i'm painting it) that alone makes the houses look different.

John Mathewson · Answer

@Dave Charron Congrats on the volume that's a big step! We use 2 sets of finished a "warm" and a "cool" the warm has espresso cabinets and oil rubbed bronze finishes, the "cool" has brushed nickel finishes and white cabinets. We do however change the tile in the bathrooms on each house to me this keeps a different look with minimal time spent on picking it out.

Majority of the time 80% of our finishes are the same.

Kuba F. · Answer

@Dave Charron you're not doing enough volume for it to matter that much so I would set a budget for the finishes and let the other half have at it as long as it's in that budget.  Everybody wins.

Dave Charron · Answer

The house we are on right now is a cool finish.  White cabinets, white trim and gray on the walls.  The laminate flooring is a gray/tan mix.  This look seems to be real popular right now.  I definitely see the advantages to getting a "system" going where the choices are already made and we dont spend alot of time picking out everything.

Robert Whitelaw · Answer

The only thought I would suggest is doing a little experimenting with some number of selections to see if any of them seem to be more desirable than other choices. It would stink to select a style with your first effort that you stick with that may be failing to get you the maximum payoff. Not a huge deal, but something to consider.

R

Sid Leibowitz · Answer

Most Contractor investors establish these elements as a design and budget function. Is your other half taking into consideration the cost of redesigning using different materials on every project? In addition to the time of the design and selection mode there is the sourcing and re-calculation of using new materials each time which effects the sq footage cost. Do they just want to have  new project and something to do on every project or are they concerned with the budget on every project?  Cookie cutter concept from project to project  is probably the most cost effective. if you have success with vendors and factories in reliability  then reinventing every project increases the time invested into the project.

Brian Pulaski · Answer

Not purposely but it seems I have been pretty consistent with my houses. They end up looking very similar inside.

Consistent Finishes on your flips?

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