{"id":862,"date":"2023-07-11T11:18:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T09:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paulrobida.com\/?p=862"},"modified":"2025-11-27T08:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T07:32:09","slug":"the-proper-way-to-flip-houses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paulrobida.com\/index.php\/2023\/07\/11\/the-proper-way-to-flip-houses\/","title":{"rendered":"The proper way to flip houses"},"content":{"rendered":"
Flipping houses isn\u2019t about getting rich quick. It\u2019s about making properties better !<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
I grew up in Paris. My parents lived in a town house with a small garden near the Trocadero. By Paris standards it would be considered Posh. My neighbors were famous actors, ambassadors, doctors, or prominent government officials. Yet, As soon as I was old enough to get my own room, I knew the architecture layout of the house was rubbish. It made no sense. The kitchen was small and on the wrong floor, the bathrooms were embarrassing even for the 70\u2019s, and there was no closet space anywhere. I couldn\u2019t understand why my father was so proud of his h\u00f4tel particulier, and as a child I would take advantage of any birthday invitation from friends to explore their own living conditions. Needless to say, theirs were no better than mine!<\/p>\n
Paris Haussmann buildings look very chic from the outside, but their interior organization is completely unfit for modern living. During the late 19th century, when most of them were erected, bathrooms were not yet a thing, neither were large walk-in closets, and kitchens were back offices for maids. It\u2019s only after WWII that parisians began installing \u201cproper\u201d bathrooms. And by \u201cproper\u201d I mean a minuscule water closet gained upon the bedroom space. As a result, you often find today tiny bedrooms with ridiculously small bathrooms, even in expensive listings in well to do Paris neighborhoods. <\/p>\nA typical Haussmann flat in Paris, sold recently for 1.500.000 \u20ac. One tiny water closet for 4 bedrooms. A prime House flipping candidate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
It is probably this quest for proper living conditions that pushed me to pursue interior architecture as a career. And today, I cannot enter someone\u2019s home without thinking how I would transform the space for the better. It is my calling, my contribution to the flawed world we live in !<\/p>\n
Flipping should add quality. Flipping should solve problems. Flipping should create design efficiency. Flipping is not about adding a room and using cheap materials to just bump up the price!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Whether it is an old historical building, or a modern one, build by promoters more interested by profits, than providing decent living conditions, most homes are deeply flawed, and would benefit from some sort of architectural modifications of the existing layout. <\/p>\n
Some flippers, or as we call it in French, \u201cMarchand de bien\u201d, only interested in quick returns, like those you see all too much on YouTube or TikTok, are only here to make things worse. \nFlipping should add quality. Flipping should solve problems. Flipping should create design efficiency. Flipping is not about adding a room and using cheap materials to just bump up the price!<\/p>\n
Flipping is understanding volumes. Without proper architectural volumes you have nothing. If you don\u2019t understand the correlation between each living space. If you don\u2019t understand circulation. If you don\u2019t understand flow. If you don\u2019t understand the importance of light. Then you have brought nothing to elevate the space. You just wasted materials – cheap or expansive \u2013 and your actions were, more often than not, counter-productive.<\/p>\n
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