If you’re working with Arizona Hard money lenders to complete a fix-and-flip, your success is their success. Avoiding the common mistakes ensures it’s a win-win situation for all.

You’ve probably heard the old saying, “It’s easier to keep a customer than it is to find a new one.” This rings true in the fix-and-flip business too. Relationships are everything. If you treat your crews well, they’ll do good quality work and come back for repeat projects. If your broker gets you a great deal, you’ll return to him when you need funding for your next project. The same thing goes for your Arizona Hard money lenders as well. They want you to be successful because it ensures an ongoing mutually-beneficial relationship. But, if you’re new to the business, it’s all too easy to strike out on the first round, and it typically comes from one of three common errors.

1. No Cushion: Call it an emergency fund, a cushion, or any other name, you’ve got to have some sort of back-up funds ready for when things don’t go as planned. Even seasoned pros will find flood damage, bad wiring, and other expensive issues with their projects when things get going. They get through it because they plan ahead for issues. If you find a great deal on a property, sometimes the cushion can come from the Arizona Hard money lenders and your initial loan, but more often than not, you’ll need to have some of your own cash available.

2. Making Emotional Decisions: You knew the second you saw the property that it would be the one. Maybe it was a quaint little historic bungalow or foreclosure in a quiet community, just waiting for some TLC and a family. The location was great, the repair needs were minimal, and the pricing was amazing. Then, the bidding war started. It’s hard to walk away when you’ve already made plans and know exactly what you’ll do with a place, but at some point, the deal stopped making financial sense and you began bidding because your heart was set. It happens to the best of us, but if you find yourself making any kind of decisions based on emotions, walk away.

3. Failure to Create an Accurate Timeline: Like the financial cushion, all your projects should have a time cushion as well. Not only can unforeseen repairs make a job take longer, but sometimes crews fail to show or coordinating teams doesn’t work out. Give yourself some breathing room. At the very least, it will make the project less stressful, but there’s a good chance that cushion will save the project at some point too.

Realistic Expectations Come with Experience

The more fix-and-flip projects you take on, the easier it will become to gauge what needs to be done, as well as how much time and money it will take to do it. When you’re getting your start, you’ll need to pad your expense list and timeline to compensate for that.

Work with Arizona Hard money lenders and other professionals who have experience and know the business inside and out to ensure success.