Best renos for greater investment on return for flipping houses?

[Cody Roy]

I am very new to real estate, have been doing a lot of research and want to take advantage of the current situation to my benefit. My question is when looking for a house to flip, what are the renovations that yeild the most when selling the house, I.E. kitchen, bathroom, roof, foundations, finished basements. If i find a house that needs a new roof and invest 10k into fixing it but only get 11k back, or there is another house that needs a new bathroom and kitchen which costs 10k but raises the value 15k upon selling. What is worth the most when selling?! my target is SFH only for now. did some research on the forms but could not find specific information.

[Jesse Lynch]

Hey Cody!

In my experience, it's a bit unrealistic to exactly determine cost of repair vs value in resale or say which repairs are most valuable.  So here's a thought experiment:

Would a car with a dead engine, but fabulous paint and rims be worth more or less than a working car with stock rims and factory paint.  I bet it'd be worth more, because it's practical and useable.

On a flip, it's the totality of renovation that is required to sell the property for maximum profit.  That's not to say, put in the best finishes and fixtures, but more like "improve everything that needs to be improved,"  and then you can consider elaborate design.

Taking that idea to a flip, if I said "a $15k kitchen renovation turns more profit than a fresh paint." That's coming from a place of ignorance in more than one regard.  For one, what if the kitchen is already updated, and the paint is gnarly? (or vice versa)  And second, if the kitchen is renovated, but the rest of the house is not painted, does the fancy kitchen yield the same profit?  Probably not.  Or for that matter, is any of it worth doing if when you go to sell, the roof is on the brink of death...

That being said, rather than explaining what should be fixed, I'll try to say what should be "nice," or "in good working order/not needing repair" before listing the average flip, and I'll try to do it some kind of order of importance, but again it depends greatly on the market and a flipped home is the complete product, not necessarily just the important pieces.

Mechanicals (HVAC, hot water heater), Plumbing & Electrical, Paint/walls, Flooring, Foundation, Kitchen, Bath, Doors, Siding/Exterior paint Windows, Roof...

I probably missed some, but I hope that's helpful, and gets the point across!

Good luck in your endeavors, and feel free to reach out directly with any specific questions!