House flipping may sound like a simple concept, but when mistakes are made, this can reduce profit margins and end up in failure. These 5 mistakes will stop you falling into the same pitfalls as many others and maximise your chances of success:

1. Not having enough money
The purchase of the property is the first and largest expense, however you must be able to afford       any necessary repayments as well as renovating the house. Without having adequate finances           to do this in a timely manner, you may struggle to make any profit.

2. Lack of time
   House flipping is time-consuming. From finding a suitable property, to financing it and fixing it up, there is a significant amount of time required to complete the process. Without enough time, you will not be able to do a good job of house flipping.

3. Lack of skills
   If you are not in a position to undertake some of the renovation work yourself, you can find yourself spending large sums of money to complete the work. As such, if you’re hiring professionals to do all of the work in the home, you should be certain you can afford this financially and it won’t impact your profit margins.

4. Not understanding the process
   Naivety is one of the most dangerous aspects of flipping a house. If you don’t understand market value of renovated properties, don’t know the cost of required building and decorating work, or are unrealistic with the profit you plan to make, you can quickly end up losing money.

5. Little patience
   Patience is vital when it comes to house flipping. Processes can take longer than anticipated and there can be unexpected work that needs doing on a property. Any experienced house flipper will understand that to make a good return on investment, you must invest significant time and money into making it work.