Fliperati

I was listening to a real estate investing podcast yesterday and was stopped in my tracks when the host remarked that perfectionists ought to avoid flipping houses.  This statement resonated with me because — at that very moment — I was on my hands and knees in the corner of the bathroom scraping a bit of dried grout off the wall behind the toilet (where it will be completely hidden unless the toilet goes kaput and needs to be replaced).  I knew this (tedious!) labor was entirely unnecessary, but I couldn’t stand the idea of rogue grout blemishing my freshly primed drywall.  Spending time on this class of tasks is simply not good business and I’m glad I heard someone verbalize that in the podcast.  I promptly abandoned the grout stains in favor of more important jobs.

That said, I don’t think perfectionism and house flipping are entirely mismatched.  While it would be near impossible to make everything in a rundown house built more than a century ago sparkle like new, attention to detail in the right areas can probably generate a lot of profit.  Quality workmanship in rooms that will be closely scrutinized (kitchen and bathroom) will likely pay off, but you can’t let yourself get carried away.  The trick is knowing when to spend a little extra time on something and when to do the bare minimum.  I’ll definitely do a better job making this distinction in the coming weeks as the open house draws closer and closer.