Seven things I'd do differently on my next flip
The Henderson flip worked — $50,000 net on a six-month project. It also went 25% over on renovation and ran well behind schedule, and most of that traces back to four avoidable decisions. Here they are, plus three lessons carried from earlier projects.
For the project these came from — the walkthrough, the budget and the final numbers — see the full Henderson flip. For the framework, the five steps.
Everything the loft conversion needed that an open loft didn't
Converting the upstairs loft into a bedroom was the best decision on the project — it took the house from two bedrooms to three and moved it into a completely different search bracket.
It also produced the two most avoidable errors, both for the same reason.
The vent
The HVAC vent had been blowing air into an open loft, which was fine while it was an open loft. Once a wall, a closet and a framed door went in, the vent was no longer in the right place.
Moving it afterwards is work that should never have existed.
The light switch
Walking up into the loft, you reached over and turned on the light — a switch positioned for an open entry.
The new door got framed exactly there. It now opens directly into the switch, blocking it.
The fix for next time is simply to plot the conversion properly first — where the door swings, where the switch lands, where the air needs to go — before anyone builds a wall.
Submitting the HOA application last
The property was in a master-planned community. The plan was to leave landscaping until the very end so it would be fresh and new when the house hit the market.
Sound reasoning. It ignored one thing.
The HOA took over two months to review the application.
That is two months of approval time stacked onto the end of a project that was otherwise nearly finished — and it put the whole schedule well behind.
The application should have gone in on day one. Get it approved early, do the work, then simply maintain it until listing day.
The wider point: anything requiring third-party approval belongs at the front of your timeline, regardless of when the work happens. HOA architectural review, permits, utility connections. You do not control those clocks, so start them early.
Too many subcontractors
Margins were tight, so the approach was to find the best price on everything separately — best price on paint, best price on flooring, best price on countertops, best price on cabinets.
What that produced was a lot of subcontractors who do not communicate with one another.
Each one sees only their own scope. That is my job, I only do flooring. I only do paint. I only do this one thing. Nobody is looking at the project as a whole, noticing that one trade is about to undo another's work, or that the sequence is wrong.
What to do instead
One main contractor running the subs. They look at the big picture rather than a single scope, and they coordinate the order of operations because it is their job to.
On a flip, the carrying costs run every day you own the property. A general contractor's margin is frequently cheaper than the weeks it buys back.
Three of those four aren't money mistakes
Worth noticing what these have in common.
| Mistake | What it actually was |
|---|---|
| The vent | A decision made after framing that belonged before it |
| The light switch | A decision made after framing that belonged before it |
| The HOA application | A task done at the end that belonged at the start |
| Too many subcontractors | A cost decision — that cost time instead |
None of these was about spending too much on materials. They were about order of operations.
Flippers watch the budget closely because the budget is the number they can see. The schedule is where the money quietly goes — and the schedule is set by sequencing decisions made weeks earlier.
Which is exactly why progress checks and a planned sequence matter, as covered in the five steps.
Carried from earlier projects
Don't go cheap on landscaping
Curb appeal is the first impression somebody has pulling up to your property. If the outside does not look good and the inside does, the house carries an incomplete feel — and that feeling attaches itself to your asking price.
It is also the cheapest place to undermine everything you spent inside.
Repaint the exterior
Specific to Las Vegas, and consistently worth it. The sun here is strong enough to visibly fade exterior paint over time.
A fresh coat on the stucco can make a property read as almost new — which is a large perceptual change for a modest cost. It has been one of the more reliable returns across years of projects.
Do something with the garage floor
Everyone talks about kitchens and primary bathrooms. The garage gets ignored.
But there is very often somebody in a home-buying decision who genuinely cares about the garage — and they are frequently one of the two people deciding.
Painting the floor or applying an epoxy coating is inexpensive, and giving that person a clean, finished garage moves the value of the whole house in their mind.
Mistakes or lessons
The framing used throughout this project is worth adopting: you can call them mistakes, but they are more usefully treated as lessons.
The flip still returned 13.3% and cleared its target while running 25% over on renovation and behind on schedule. Which tells you two things — the margin was built correctly, and there was real money left on the table.
Every one of these avoided next time is margin that stays in the project. That is what step five of the process is actually for.
Flipping mistakes FAQ
What goes wrong when you convert a loft into a bedroom?
The things the open space did not need. An HVAC vent blowing into an open loft can end up in the wrong position once walls go up, and a light switch placed for an open entry can end up behind a newly framed door. Both need deciding before framing rather than after.
How long does HOA approval take for landscaping?
On this master-planned community, over two months just to review the application. Saving landscaping until last so it looks fresh is reasonable in theory, but the approval clock starts when you submit — so the application should go in at the beginning of the project, not the end.
Should you use one contractor or multiple subcontractors on a flip?
A single general contractor managing the subs is usually better. Hiring separately to chase the best price on each trade produces people who do not communicate with one another and who each see only their own scope. The savings tend not to materialise, and the lost time costs more.
Does landscaping matter when flipping a house?
Yes — it is the first impression a buyer gets. A poor exterior with a good interior leaves the property feeling incomplete, and that feeling attaches to the price. Going cheap on landscaping undermines everything spent inside.
Is exterior paint worth it on a Las Vegas flip?
Consistently, yes. The sun here is strong enough to fade exterior paint noticeably, so repainted stucco can make a property read as almost new. It is one of the more reliable returns available on a Las Vegas renovation.
Is coating a garage floor a good return on investment?
It has been. Kitchens and primary bathrooms get the attention, but there is often someone in a buying decision who genuinely values a good garage. Painting or epoxying the floor is inexpensive and moves that person meaningfully — and they are frequently one of the two decision-makers.
What is the most common flipping mistake?
Sequencing rather than spending. Most costly errors come from doing things in the wrong order — framing before planning where the vent and switch go, or submitting an approval application at the end of a project instead of the start. Those mistakes cost time, and time is the expensive part of a flip.
Wherever you are on the journey
Twenty years of buying and selling, across buy-and-holds, flips, and a good number of flips that turned into holds because they were too good to sell. If you are working out which one your project should be, that is worth talking through.
The rest of the series: the full Henderson flip with every number and how to flip a house, step by step. Also: financing a flip and building a portfolio.
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Jim Fong · NV license BS.0068736 · The Jim Fong Group at Real Broker · 702-997-2050
Lessons from one investor's projects. Renovation costs, HOA approval timelines and contractor availability vary considerably. Flipping carries real risk of loss. Not investment, tax or legal advice.