When and When Not to Knock Down Walls

An important house flipping tip is to remain open and flexible to new ideas and opportunities as they arise.  Another great tip is to learn to be OK with unexpected shortfalls and when your initial idea doesn't peter out as planned.

Often times we scratch certain plans and ideas because they just do not end up making economical sense.  The plan looks great on paper, but would end up costing more money than the value we would gain from that particular aspect of the renovation.

When I first walked through this particular house in Onset I had a great idea.  To increase the potential market for this house I figured we could expand a narrow room on the first floor into a spacious master bedroom.

Having the master bedroom on the first floor would be ideal for a senior citizen or person with a disability.  A first floor master bedroom would be super convenient for anyone who has trouble walking up stairs and is a nice house flipping tip to have under your belt.

The room that I thought we could make into a master bedroom was a mere eight feet wide.  It was very narrow to say the least.  My idea was to remove the wall and expand the room into the main living area.  I've found that designing a floor plan with plenty of open space helps boost the saleability of a home.

Creating open space is another killer house flipping tip that I recommend you considering including in your next house flip.

However after consulting with my architect and builder (and also punching a hole in the wall!) I realized that my initial idea was just not the right move from an economical perspective.

The wall contained a main carrying beam that was important to the structural integrity of the house.  Removing the wall would require a lot of structural work-too much structural work in my opinion, therefore I scratched the idea.

Instead of having the master bedroom on the first floor we decided to put a newmaster bedroom on the second floor. We will be knocking down a non-load bearing wall upstairs to create a wide open, natural light filled master bedroom.

I believe this house will sell just fine even with the master bedroom on the second floor.  The house will look fantastic when we are finished, plus it is located in a seaside community.

This is just one of many instances where calling my architect and builder came in huge!  You really can't overlook the importance of having experts on your side and I highly recommend you include experts in your own house flipping business plan.

Take care, good luck and see you at the top!

Mike