Flipping Real Estate is a business, and in order to make sure that your business is profitable you need to cut cost as much as possible. When we flipped our first property we made a budget, but we let it get away from us. If you want to be successful in real estate then you need to realize that every penny counts. Here are a few cut cutting flip tips.

• Get multiple quotes from contractors and then negotiate the price :: Most contractors are going to start with a high quote just to see if you will take the bait. We use about 4 different contractors per flip, and get bids from about 10 total, then negotiate with the contractors we like the most. By having the other quotes you get some leverage to use against them to force them to drop the price.
• Don’t use your house flip as a home depot shopping spree :: You don’t need the new drill set, nor the table saw that is on clearance to finish your flip. Watch your spending because it will add up and deplete your profits faster than you think. When you are flipping a house buy only the item’s needed to finish the house flip. The drill you can purchase after you sell the house with your profit’s.
• Turn off the lights and A/C :: When you leave or a contractor leaves make sure everything is getting turned off. I know this sound a little obsessive, but if you have house on the market for six months, and you are running lights, A/C, etc. Then you are going to get some high energy bills. Just by having stuff turned off at the end of the day you can save hundreds on your flip.
• You buy the materials not the contractors :: Contractors love to mark up materials 100% and more, so instead of letting them buy the supplies, you go out and purchase everything for the house flip and have it delivered to the house. Do not put your money in the hands of contractors.
• Don’t purchase everything from Home Depot :: Home Depot is great, but you can find carpet, tile, granite, hard wood, and other materials much cheaper from discount places around town. For hardwood, you can buy pallets of hard wood that was removed out of a house or building for pennies on the dollar. After you have it installed and refinished it looks great! Their are so many small businesses that will cut you a better deal of many of your materials. It is cost effective to think that Home Depot is the only place for materials.

Be sure to add any cost saving tips you might have in a comment!