I knew a foreclosure specialist in NY who told me a story of going to see a homeowner a couple of days before the auction was to take place and he found the guy painting the house!

Some people buy a house, mow the lawn and spend $20 bucks for a gallon of paint to repaint the front of the house and then relist it at $10k or $20k more and sell it.

There is some finish work that needs doing, new windows, and some exterior paint.

Baths and kitchen need work, maybe redone completely, the rest appears to be painting, some flooring, and some baseboards, a few doors.

You can't just simply buy a house slap paint on it, new landscaping, floor and expect to sell it for 5 digit profits.We all know that the subprime fallout has caused lenders to force many into foreclosure, these numbers are only expected to grow through the next 1-3 years.So would it be wise to think if you were looking to get into the flip market that these foreclosures would have the potential to be a profitable investment?

My wife and sister-in-law inherited a home when their mother passed away.The home has been on the market for about a month in a "as is" basis,with no viable offers to this point.I am making cosmetic repairs and have estimates for the larger issues,roof and plaster.My choice is to pull it off the market,make all repairs,paint,carpet,so on,and put it back at a higher price,I would have to get a loan on its equity(it is paid off)to pay for this.My other thought was to try and get as much equity out as allowed,pay off the sister-in-law,take our share and pay some bills off,then rent the house out.Iam kind of going in circles thinking which way to go and would appreciate your thoughts on what options are the most profitable,thanks.

The Seller can give credits for the repairs of items in the home, such as new carpet, painting, etc.

I am making repairs and updates to my deceased mother-in-laws home so we can put it on the market,we are having a new roof put on,paint,carpet,faucets,etc.The big ticket is the windows,the cost to replace them would be around 5K.What kind of return can I expect to get.Also,it has no dishwasher and no rear access to the yard,how big a problem are these.

I've seen my family buy and install storms on countless properties only to have to have them removed for cleaning and for trim painting.

A roof over their head is the minimum that people expect from a house, it being dimensional instead of 3 tab doesn't bring a higher price.In our part of the country "energy efficient" windows have about a 25 year payback in energy savings-so do it for your own "livability" factor but not for money.Landscaping-like exterior, adds a lot of curb appeal, one of the reasons we were able to get our house below market-"barn red" paint and 20 years of randomly placed and randomly trimmed shrubs turned many buyers off.