Tips for keeping your flipping costs low

[Clayton Yearns]

Hello there, we have been thinking of flipping a house for a long time. Well we finally have a property and the finances to be able to flip this house. Just like any flip we need to keep our costs low to ensure we turn a profit, but given the current state of the housing market the bids I'm getting make me worried we would just break even or even lose money on the project. ARV is roughly $125k to $135k.

The good news, is we inherited the property free and clear but it's basically worth lot value due to it's age, condition, etc. So it's basically a gut job, only thing that is brand new is the water heater.  :-) 

We figured we could save by doing some things yourself like painting, some demo, and acting as the GC on some of the projects like HVAC, Roof, windows and siding, then using a GC to coordinate everything on the inside.  We also continue to reduce the scope and eliminate expensive projects like removing load bearing walls. 

So far I've estimated our flipping costs at about $35k just for siding, windows, roof, doors, and new HVAC.  To make this project work I'd like to keep my total budget under $80k, ideally, under $65k.  

Any tips or resources you could point this newbie to. Sorry if this has been summarized somewhere else. :-) 

[Teri Feeney Styers]

So @Clayton Yearns you are saying your time has no value... :)  - If you got the property for free and you spend $80k on it to get back $125k then that is $45k into your pocket. Could you do nothing and sell it for $45k or more without investing time, energy, and $$? Could you scrape the lot and build new and make more? Does this house have historical value and charm that make it worth the hassle?