Who does the design work when you rehab/flip a house?

[Jennifer T.]

Hi everyone,

I am just starting to learn about the process involved with house rehabs/flips. Every guide I've read so far says that after the initial step of planning out the budget and such, you are to find a contractor who will then do the work for you. My question is, doesn't the contractor work off some sort of blueprint - so who is the person responsible for actually designing the rehab (eg. the dimensions of the walls of each room, shape of the kitchen island, what kind of bathtub, and the material of room walls/floors, etc)? I've tried looking up what an interior designer does and it sounds like they just pick out the furniture? What would be the title of the person who prepares the more fixed parts of the house and what is involved in working with them? To me, there seems to be a link missing between finding a contractor and the contractor doing the work. 

[David Sisson]

We do a lot of simple plans for flippers, but you’ll need a solid scope of work and contract with your contractor in order to cover everything. I mean, most of our clients aren’t willing to pay the cost it’s take to cover every nail and board that goes into a project.