Fix and Flip How does location affect sale

[Jared Baker]

Hello BP.

Not sure where to put this post, but this section seems like a good place.  I am looking to do a fix and flip for my first deal.  I have the skills to do all of the work myself and want to use this as a way to hopefully get me some capital so I can invest into duplexes or other fix and flip properties.  So I will be walking the property tomorrow to see what it is like inside the home but yesterday I went to drive by and see the area around it.

So a little about the home first:

• Just over 1000sqft (decent size starter home I think)
• asking price is high given the condition it is it so shouldn't have an issue getting the price that would make the deal work
• Very outdated home
• Essentially no kitchen
• Roof and exterior seem to have been updated in the last 5-7 years (will find out tomorrow)
• Has a two car garage
• Very little yard.  A little landscape work and you wouldn't have any grass left

So based on this and the pictures I have seen, there is a lot of potential to make this a nice home for a single person or a young couple.  However there are some downsides to the property such as the fact that there is basically no yard and the front door is only 8-10 feet from the road (there is a sidewalk).

Here is a bit about the area when I drove by the other day:

• Houses on the street are not in the best shape, all still occupied but definitely not the nicest part of town.
• I see people parking boats and cars in their yards so over all the street does not appear to be "clean".
• Houses are close together, this particular one shares a driveway with the house behind it and there are two buildings very close to this house that are not in the best shape

So if you have made it this far my questions is, how will some of these factors affect selling the home once it is fixed up?  I realize that most of you are not in my area and don't know the market, but in general, will having no yard really knock down the price significantly?  Will the fact that the other homes on the street are not kept nice drop the price even lower?  Even if I could make the numbers work, would some of these factors (the things I can't change) be reasons to pass and move onto something else?  In the long term it would be great if I could convince everyone on that street to sell me their home and then it could look really nice, but we are just talking about the present now.

Thanks BP