How to Buy a Sonoma County Home for Investors To Flip
Sonoma County is home to beaches, mountain hiking, artisan wineries, canoeing, river rafting, touristy downtowns (Petaluma, Sonoma and Healdsburg) and the food... my friend, the food. But I digress.... beside all those fabulous amenities, in Sonoma County there is a wonderful opportunity for the retail investor wanting to flip homes.
Here are 8 tips to better understand how to find and flip a Sonoma County home.
1) The best flips aren’t luxury showpieces anymore. You don't have to buy a ginormous house to flip for a 'one-percenter'. In Sonoma County, many successful flips also function as future second home properties that feel livable, not speculative. Instead focus on a home that has a few special amenities, a good floor plan and a great location. Buyers aren’t asking for more house. They’re asking for more life.
2) Buyers care deeply about location, transportation, walkability, community events and a social life they can afford. Investors who understand lifestyle proximity will outperform investors chasing finishes. Homes walking distance to town squares, near farmers markets, fairs, festivals, adjacent to bike paths, river access, and community parks will attract not only 'regular buyers' but out of area buyers looking for a second home.
3) Focus on neighborhoods with older housing stock, small lot sizes with yards that can be improved to an indoor/outdoor lifestyle, modest square footage and homes with deferred maintenance. Cosmetic neglect + a strong location will attract the highest buyer pool overlap.
4) Many flippers fix the house and ignore the yard. Second home buyers looking in Sonoma County are coming from San Francisco, the East Bay, and the Peninsula specifically for the outdoor lifestyle and access to all our adventures. Don't skimp on the yard. Highlight the 'extra house space' in the yard. Meaning, use the yard to increase the square footage. Install a hot tub, shade, kitchens, pergolas, and native plants (for ease of care). If you can swing a dipping pool, do it.
5) We all know kitchens and bathrooms sell homes. But popular additions you can't get in retail homes are bringing in buyers too. Like drop zones/mud rooms/laundry rooms, outdoor kitchens, pools, storage and functionality over square footage, and open kitchens that work for entertaining.
6) Ergonomics and flow matter. Don't buy the home where the back yard is only accessible through a bedroom. Don't install the fridge doors away from the counter. Don't install the cabinet door that opens away from the natural flow. Always put the kitchen sink under a window. Find ways to cleverly install storage in dead space.
7) Don't cheat on the infrastructure. Don't leave it for the buyer to install the proper HVAC, roof, and left over pest issues. Today's buyer pool are paying a lot of interest for their homes and they gravitate to homes that are 'complete' not half complete.
8) Don't confuse the buyer with a design that doesn't work. If the house is a 70's house, play up a modern 70's vibe instead of the french country look. Don't design the house how you want to live in it, enhance the livability and unique features of the house.
I recently had the pleasure of working with Rudy, Jennifer and Gil to purchase a 'small' 1600 sf home on a large lot in Coffee Park, Santa Rosa. This home is walking distance to 'winery warehouse row', Coffee Park, 2 mins to Trader Joe's and the 101. It's quiet too. The front entry has a nice path that leads to a covered entry. There is an existing pool, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 2 car garage and the back yard backs up to a rather tall brick wall affording privacy in the pool area. There's lots of room for backyard entertaining and the kitchen has a direct path to the yard. There's also a side yard the might fit an RV. I can't wait to see how this house turns out!
