Should I hire a consultant for remodel design?

[Anurag Bhalla]

So I pulled the trigger on my first flip last week. A newbie question for all the experienced Rehabbers here -

Do you usually hire a consultant for determining how to best use the space? I have come up with a plan myself on which walls to open, what all to relocate, how many cabinets to place etc but I want to be spot on with these decisions. Don't want to have a duh! moment half way into the project. Do you hire a professional for the remodel design or do you just go by your experience and intuition?

Thx

[Bob Okenwa]

@Anurag Bhalla

Congrats on pulling the trigger. I'm from San Diego and would love to flip there but the prices are too astounding. To answer your question, you can look at apps/websites like Houzz and Pinterest for design ideas to see what's popular right now. An exercise I like to do is look at recently (last year or so) completed flips in the same general area as your property and try to do what they did if the property sold for a good price and sold relatively quickly of course. I personally wouldn't hire a designer as I think I have a decent eye for those kinds of things but to each their own. Also, HGTV is a source of inspiration for lots of home buyers these days and they tend to want to their new home to be like what they see on TV. All in all, design is more art than science. Even a paid pro can make mistakes. Unless the house has some kind of abnormal floor plan, I'd trust my instincts.