The Deed’s Sidney Torres Shares 5 Secrets To Flipping A Luxury Home

Sidney Torres knows a thing or two about flipping homes—he’s been doing it since age 20, after all. On his CNBC series, “The Deed,” Torres, now 42, imparts his wisdom to struggling property investors, taking them through every stage of the renovation process to transform their properties into dream homes, so they can eventually flip and turn a profit. The New Orleans native has transformed many historic buildings into elegant, small hotels of quintessential Big Easy charm and easygoing style, as well as renovated large-scale projects like The Cove, a 40-acre, $100 million resort in the Bahamas. In the last 15 years, Sidney has developed over $250 million in commercial and residential real estate. Here, Torres shares five secrets to flipping a luxury home with Haute Living. 

#1 ATTENTION TO DETAIL

To create a true luxury experience, you have to pay attention to the smallest details and think even beyond the aesthetic to the feel, the tactile response, of your materials.
One major mistake often made by flippers new to the luxury market is their continued use of hollow-core doors. Hollow-core looks fine but the client can feel the quality or lack thereof, the second they open a door. The difference between good and great lies in the details.

#2 KEEP IT NEUTRAL

Flippers often want to put their own personal fingerprint on a home, with bold colors, or their own individual style. Everyone though has their own unique taste in art, furniture, etc that could easily clash with yours, causing them to move on to a different property. Because of this, you want to your luxury flip to be a well-appointed, but largely neutral, canvas that the buyer themselves can paint on. Keep it simple. Keep it neutral.

#3 PRESERVE THE HISTORY

Coliseum St. 

Something that can add value to a luxury flip is the history of the building. That history is something you should embrace whenever possible. I flipped a property that belonged to Napoleon’s nephew. The flooring was 200 years old but most had been destroyed by termites. Luckily I was able to salvage enough of it to repurpose as accent walls. You might find yourself flipping a relatively new build. When this happens, do some research & try to incorporate elements that tie into the history of the land/area of the flip. Every property has a history, and that history can add value.

#4 FURNITURE LAYOUT

One mistake flippers make is completing 99% of a reno without doing a furniture layout, resulting in mistakes such as poorly placed windows and costly last minute change orders to move outlets/utilities. Take the time early to put together a furniture layout and it can improve the quality of the flip, and save money on the bottom line.

#5 POCKET LISTING

An important aspect of a flip is selling the property. An overlooked technique is the Pocket Listing. With a pocket listing you reach out to top real estate agents in the area who help suggest a price based on recent area comps and then share the property with their most exclusive clients. With a pocket listing you don’t see a for sale sign or see the house listed online. This saves the time & hassle of open houses and helps preserve the privacy of both buyers & seller who might not want the photos/floor plan of their house out there for everyone to see, and it lends an air of exclusivity to the property that your buyers will value.

Home photos courtesy of Andrew Alwert