Admit it: You’re an HGTV addict. Like those of us who’ve seen every episode of “Flip or Flop” — twice — you’re eager to gut your first house and turn a six-figure profit. Not so fast there, El Moussa couple wannabe! Before you demo that pink-tiled ’80s kitchen, you need a stern reality check from the Property Brothers. Any experienced home flipper would caution you that transforming a real-estate beast into a bankable beauty is never as easy as it looks on TV. In other words, don’t get your hands dirty until you’ve learned a thing or two about real estate, construction and how much damage your project could do to your wallet — and to the beam that’s keeping the roof from collapsing. Just because that dilapidated Victorian treasure only cost you the price of a new Prius doesn’t mean you’ll easily earn back your investment and pocket another $55,000 — the average gross flipping profit in 2015. While home flipping enjoys its highest rate since 2007, according to RealtyTrac, homeownership is near a half-century low, which means fewer potential buyers off the bat.
2016’s Best Cities to Flip Houses
