{"id":287119,"date":"2020-02-24T17:02:15","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T17:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/?p=287119"},"modified":"2026-02-18T07:36:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T07:36:21","slug":"property-flipping","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/property-flipping","title":{"rendered":"House flipping: How to successfully do property flipping in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

Property flipping is when a property is bought and then sold again after a short period of time \u2013 usually within a year \u2013 with the aim of making money. In times when house prices are rising rapidly, you may be able to make money without doing anything to the property, but when prices are rising more slowly you\u2019ll need to renovate and improve it to boost its value.<\/p>

Research by estate agent Hamptons International shows that the popularly of house flipping (defined as homes sold more than once within a year) has fallen dramatically as house price inflation has slowed. At its peak in 2004, 60,340 homes were flipped in England and Wales compared to just 18,630 in 2018 \u2013 a 69% drop. As a proportion of all homes sold, 4.8% were flipped in 2004 versus 2.1% in 2018.<\/p>

Hamptons International said that house prices rose by 13% on average between 2000 and 2007, which explains the popularity of house flipping during this period, but growth slowed following the financial crisis in 2008 and the Brexit vote in 2016. According to Nationwide, in 2019 UK house prices rose by just 1.4% on average (some regions actually experienced price falls) so flipping property is much riskier than it used to be.<\/p>

Why would I want to flip property?<\/h3>

If you want to get into property developing either as a sideline or a full-time career move, then property flipping is the opportunity to generate an income by refurbishing a property and selling it on at a profit.<\/p>

Or, you may decide to view it as a one-off project, using some savings or an inheritance to snap up a bargain property and generate a return on your money by selling the property for a higher price after completing the renovations.<\/p>

Alternatively, your individual circumstances may inadvertently lend themselves to property flipping at that particular time in your life. Perhaps you know you\u2019ll only be living in a certain area for a year or less, so will decide to buy a run-down property, live in it while you do it up, then sell it on when you\u2019re off to pastures now.<\/p>

How to make money property flipping<\/h3>

Since the current level of house price inflation isn\u2019t enough to make you money on a property in itself, especially once you factor in the cost of buying, owning and selling it, you\u2019ll need to renovate the property to make flipping worthwhile and then sell it for the best price possible \u2013 showing it with furniture and accessories will make it more saleable for example.<\/p>

You can maximise your profits by buying a property for less than its market value in the first place \u2013 consider buying a repossessed property<\/a> or buying at auction<\/a> to try and get a bargain. Also ask estate agents if they have any properties on their books where a quick sale is needed, such as the owners are getting divorced or the property is about to be repossessed, as you may be able to get it for less.<\/p>

Remember that the fees you\u2019ll have to pay will be significant. You\u2019ll pay stamp duty if you\u2019re buying a property for more than \u00a3125,000 and if you already own a property you\u2019ll have to pay 3% extra too. You\u2019ll also have to spend another few thousand on legal, survey and other fees and will pay a minimum of 1% plus VAT in estate agents\u2019 fees when you sell it, which equates to \u00a33,600 if the sale price is \u00a3300,000.<\/p>

If you don\u2019t already have the cash available to buy and renovate the property there will be finance costs and you will have to pay for council tax, utilities and insurance. You could end up spending \u00a320,000 on top of the cost of the renovations, which will take a big chunk out of your profit.<\/p>

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