--- title: 3 Surefire Ways for Your Fix and Flip Project to Fail description: One wrong decision can lead to a break even situation, or worse, leave you with a loss. Here are a few surefire ways for your fix and flip project to fail. image: https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hubfs/images/Blog_Images/investment-property-financing.jpg --- [![Trust Deed Capital](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16494019-png/images/trust-deed-capital-logo.png "Trust Deed Capital")](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/) CALL 1 (888) 563-5588 Search ![Hard Money Lender Investors](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/images/blog.png) ## [3 Surefire Ways for Your Fix and Flip Project to Fail](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/3-surefire-ways-for-your-fix-and-flip-project-to-fail) Posted by [Ken Meyer](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/author/ken-meyer) on Tue, Jun 09, 2015 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![financing investment property](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hubfs/images/Blog_Images/investment-property-financing.jpg "financing investment property")Flipping a house](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/bid/152306/5-Things-to-Consider-Before-Flipping-a-House) is a very profitable endeavor if you know what you are doing. As with most highly lucrative opportunities, it is also risky. Being well-informed is the best way to ensure success. One wrong decision can lead to a break even situation, or worse, leave you with a loss. Here are a few surefire ways for your fix and flip project to fail. # Fix and Flip Mistake #1: Over-improving Over improving your property will certainly make profitability difficult. New [investors](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/understanding-trust-deeds) often over improve by up to 50%. They do not understand which improvements actually add value, so they do too much. Unnecessary improvements that do not add value will devour your profit margin. There are many small things you can do to [improve the property](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/5-common-real-estate-investment-mistakes-that-will-cost-you) which cost very little. For example, a house is more likely to sell if it has a nice color palette. Pleasant colored paint is not going to cost much more than plain white paint. This is an extremely affordable way to make the home more desirable. Knowing which improvements to make, based on how much value they add to the property, is a key in a [successful fix and flip project](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/bid/142276/What-it-Take-To-Be-a-Real-Estate-Investor). # Fix and Flip Mistake #2: Buying the wrong house Consider your [exit strategy](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/questions-to-expect-from-your-hard-money-lender) before you purchase a house. Think about who will want to buy this house and why. The wrong house is one located in a bad neighborhood. You will have a difficult time selling a house located in a crime infested neighborhood. People also do not generally want to live on a busy street. Pay close attention to the surroundings of the house. Street parking is also an issue to avoid. A good house has a driveway at the very least, and a garage is even better. Look at the neighboring homes and ask yourself, “Are the lawns well-manicured? Is there debris or broken-down vehicles lying around? Does it appear friendly and welcoming?” Remember you are purchasing this house with the intention to sell it. Buying the wrong house is a surefire way for your flip to fail. # Fix and Flip Mistake #3: Not having a reserve/contingency fund Understand that things will go wrong. You need to be prepared for these unforeseen situations. Having a contingency fund is vital. 10 to 20% is a good amount to have set aside. In other words, if your [contractor](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/bid/157657/The-3-Tools-Every-Hard-Money-Borrower-Should-Be-Using) estimates the repairs at $20,000, you should have another $2,000-$4,000 in reserve. It is always better to be over prepared than under prepared. There will be costs that you are not expecting. Your project could come to a complete halt without a reserve fund. The best way to ensure [success in your fix and flip project](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/bid/143088/6-Reasons-to-Partner-with-Private-Money-Lenders) is to avoid common mistakes. Knowledge truly is power in this situation. Everything you need to know is available. This is not rocket science. However, it does require a certain level of intelligence. Get information from reputable sources. Learn what to do and what not to do in order to have a profitable project. [Contact us](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/contact-us) for more information. [![New Call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/8e98db3f-db9c-4359-82c7-09cb77ecd993.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/8e98db3f-db9c-4359-82c7-09cb77ecd993) ### Have Questions? [![New Call-to-Action](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/cf54edd7-d8f4-4871-aafd-a8cc5b76667e.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/cf54edd7-d8f4-4871-aafd-a8cc5b76667e) ### Subscribe via E-mail ### Connect With Us [![New Call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/0427129d-319c-4434-b1fc-8288f0a96fdf.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/0427129d-319c-4434-b1fc-8288f0a96fdf) [![Click me](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/9b675c39-e065-48bd-9be4-27a27260541f.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/9b675c39-e065-48bd-9be4-27a27260541f) [![Click me](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/768f75b8-2827-4c95-9d49-6cdf67e0fa5c.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/768f75b8-2827-4c95-9d49-6cdf67e0fa5c) ### Latest Posts ### Categories - [fix and flip (95)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-and-flip) - [fix and flip real estate investments (43)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-and-flip-real-estate-investments) - [fix rehab properties (42)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-rehab-properties) - [real estate investing (38)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-investing) - [fix and flip loans (34)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-and-flip-loans) - [Smart Investing (29)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/smart-investing) - [hard money lenders (29)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/hard-money-lenders) - [hard money loans (27)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/hard-money-loans) - [real estate investors (24)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-investors) - [buying investment property (23)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/buying-investment-property) - [real estate investments (23)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-investments) - [real estate investor (23)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-investor) - [Fix and Flip Education (22)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-and-flip-education) - [Renting Strategy (20)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/renting-strategy) - [investment property (20)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/investment-property) - [real estate market (19)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-market) - [hard money (17)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/hard-money) - [Rental Property (16)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/rental-property) - [borrowers (16)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/borrowers) - [hard money lender (16)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/hard-money-lender) - [Investors](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/understanding-trust-deeds/) - [Understanding Trust Deeds](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/understanding-trust-deeds) - [Our Business Standards](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-business-standards) - [Yield Comparisons](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/yield-comparisons) - [The Process](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-process) - [Available Trust Deeds](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/trust-deeds-available) - [Investor FAQs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-faqs) - [Investor Testimonials](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-testimonials) - [Investor Documents](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-documents) - [Borrowers](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrowers/) - [Loan Programs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/loan-programs/) - [The Process](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrower-process/) - [Borrower FAQs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrower-faq/) - [Borrower Testimonials](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrower-testimonials/) - [Borrower Documents](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrower-documents/) - [Brokers](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/brokers/) - [Loan Programs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/broker-loan-programs/) - [The Process](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/broker-process/) - [Broker FAQs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/broker-faq/) - [Broker Documents](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/broker-documents/) - [Realtors](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/realtors/) - [Loan Programs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/realtor-loan-programs/) - [The Process](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/realtor-process/) - [Realtor FAQs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/realtor-faq/) - [About Us](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-company/) - [Our Company](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-company/) - [Our Mission](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-mission/) - [Our President / CEO](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-president-ceo/) - [Careers](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/careers/) - [Contact Us](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/contact-us/) - [Resources](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/resources/) - [Recommended Links](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/links/) - [Forms](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/forms/) [![Trust Deed Capital](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16459350-png/images/foot-logo.png "Trust Deed Capital")](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/ty-the-best-of-hard-money-articles#) - 120 Newport Center Drive, Suite 262 - Newport Beach, Ca. 92660 - CALL 1 (888) 563-5588 [![American Association of Private Lenders](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16459062-png/images/foot-assoc.png "American Association of Private Lenders")](http://www.aaplonline.com/) - [![Like us on Facebook!](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16456386-png/images/facebook.png)](http://on.fb.me/ovGeDr) - [![Follow us on Twitter!](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16497114-png/images/twitter.png)](http://twitter.com/#!/trustdeedcap) - [![Connect with us on LinkedIn!](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16469641-png/images/linkedin.png)](http://goo.gl/UXhHe) © 2015 Trust Deed Capital, Inc. | [California Bureau of Real Estate, Real Estate ](http://www.dre.ca.gov/) Broker #1805798-NMLS #296507 | [Privacy Policy](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/privacy-policy) | [Contact Us](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/contact-us)