--- title: "Where Flip Renovation Dollars Earn a Return (and Where They Die) | Addicted to ROI" description: "Spend on flooring and paint, go cheap on appliances, skip the $15K range. A flipper's spending priorities plus how to read comps before you renovate." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/#organization", "name": "Addicted to ROI", "url": "https://addictedtoroi.com", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://addictedtoroi.com/images/logo.png" }, "description": "Live your best life funded by your investments. Real estate, taxes, travel, and business, by Jennifer Beadles.", "founder": { "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/#jennifer" }, "sameAs": [ "https://agentsinvest.com", "https://doorprofit.com", "https://repstime.com", "https://strhours.com", "https://kidspayroll.com", "https://rentstager.com" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/#website", "url": "https://addictedtoroi.com", "name": "Addicted to ROI", "publisher": { "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/#organization" }, "potentialAction": { "@type": "SearchAction", "target": { "@type": "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate": "https://addictedtoroi.com/blog/?q={search_term_string}" }, "query-input": "required name=search_term_string" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/#jennifer", "name": "Jennifer Beadles", "url": "https://addictedtoroi.com/about/", "jobTitle": "Founder, Addicted to ROI", "description": "Real estate investor and founder of Addicted to ROI. Built an 8-figure rental portfolio across multiple states and teaches everyday investors how to build passive income.", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/#organization" }, "sameAs": [ "https://agentsinvest.com", "https://doorprofit.com", "https://repstime.com", "https://strhours.com", "https://kidspayroll.com", "https://rentstager.com" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/blog/flip-renovations/" }, "headline": "Where Flip Renovation Dollars Earn a Return (and Where They Die)", "description": "Spend on flooring and paint, go cheap on appliances, skip the $15K range. A flipper's spending priorities plus how to read comps before you renovate.", "image": "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1556909114-f6e7ad7d3136?w=800&q=80", "datePublished": "2026-07-05", "dateModified": "2026-07-05", "author": { "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/#jennifer" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://addictedtoroi.com/#organization" }, "speakable": { "@type": "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector": [ ".tldr-answer", "h1" ] } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://addictedtoroi.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Blog", "item": "https://addictedtoroi.com/blog" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Investment Strategies", "item": "https://addictedtoroi.com/blog?category=investment-strategies" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Where Flip Renovation Dollars Earn a Return (and Where They Die)", "item": "https://addictedtoroi.com/blog/flip-renovations/" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What renovations add the most value when flipping a house?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Flooring and paint deliver the most reliable return: buyers can't easily change flooring and don't want to paint, so both get priced into offers. Classic finishes like subway tile add perceived value well above their cost." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Should I buy high-end appliances for a flip?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Go modest on appliances and skip the refrigerator, washer, and dryer entirely. Buyers replace appliances easily, so premium appliance spending, like a $15,000 range, rarely returns its cost at sale." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I know what finishes buyers in my market want?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Study the comps that sold fast versus the ones that sat and got cut. Note the style and finish level of the winners, then call the listing brokers on strong comps and ask what buyers paid up for. Build your renovation spec from that, not from personal taste." } } ] } ] --- [![Addicted to ROI](/images/logo.png)](/) [Travel](/pillars/travel/)[Real Estate](/pillars/real-estate/)[Tax Savings](/pillars/tax-savings/)[Business](/pillars/business/)[Paths](/paths/)[Blog](/blog/)[Tools](/tools/)[Apps](/software/)[About](/about/) [Login](https://members.addictedtoroi.com/) Subscribe [Travel](/pillars/travel/)[Real Estate](/pillars/real-estate/)[Tax Savings](/pillars/tax-savings/)[Business](/pillars/business/)[Paths](/paths/)[Blog](/blog/)[Tools](/tools/)[Apps](/software/)[About](/about/)[Login](https://members.addictedtoroi.com/) Contents 1. [01 Spend here ](#spend-here) 2. [02 Starve these ](#starve-these) 3. [03 Let the comps set the spec ](#let-the-comps-set-the-spec) [Home](/)/ [Blog](/blog/)/ [Real Estate](/pillars/real-estate/) Investment Strategies # Where Flip Renovation Dollars Earn a Return (and Where They Die) Spend on flooring and paint, go cheap on appliances, skip the $15K range. A flipper's spending priorities plus how to read comps before you renovate. July 5, 2026 7 min read Contents 1. [01\. Spend here](#spend-here) 2. [02\. Starve these](#starve-these) 3. [03\. Let the comps set the spec](#let-the-comps-set-the-spec) tl;dr Buyers reward specific spending, not total spending. Put renovation dollars into flooring and paint, use classic finishes like subway tile that read expensive but cost little, and go cheap on appliances and fixtures buyers will swap anyway. Then set the whole spec from the comps that sold fast, not from personal taste. Back when we flipped a lot of homes, the biggest profit differences between projects rarely came from finding cheaper contractors. They came from spending the budget on the right things, and starving the wrong ones. You have to be picky and choosy about where the money goes, because buyers do not reward spending, they reward specific spending. ## Spend here Flooring. Buyers cannot easily change it, so they price it into their offer. Bad floors read as "project house" no matter what else you did. This is where budget goes first. Paint. Nobody wants to paint. It is the highest-perceived-value, lowest-cost transformation in the entire renovation toolkit, and buyers pay for walking into done. Classic, cheap-to-buy finishes that read expensive. Subway tile is the flagship example: relatively inexpensive, and it never reads as builder-grade or dated. You want materials where the perceived value exceeds the invoice. ## Starve these Appliances. Go relatively inexpensive, and do not supply a refrigerator, washer, or dryer at all. Buyers change appliances easily and often want their own, which means premium appliance spend transfers almost nothing at the sale. Light fixtures. Same logic. Clean and current, not designer. A buyer who hates your $60 fixture swaps it in an afternoon. A buyer who hates your $600 fixture still swaps it, and you paid $540 for nothing. The showpiece range. Spending $15,000 on a range is money you will probably never see again at the closing table. High-end appliance packages sell magazines, not spec flips. Upper cabinets, when the design allows. Skipping uppers (open shelving or a windowed wall instead) is a very significant cost saving that photographs beautifully in the right kitchen. ## Let the comps set the spec The spend list above has one master: what buyers in that specific market pay up for. Before finalizing any renovation scope, read the comps like a flipper. - Days on market and the list-to-sale gap. On one island market we analyzed, one comp dropped $200,000 before selling, another sold $25,000 under ask in about ten days, and two went pending within a week (one over asking). Same market, wildly different outcomes, and the difference was style and finish level. - Find what the market prioritizes. In that market, buyers were not paying up for acreage. They were paying up for the look: Northwest contemporary and craftsman styling, shaker siding, covered front porches, decks, landscaping. A flip that nailed the look on a small lot beat a dated house on six acres. - Interrogate the outliers. A comp that sold high because of a view or a detached unit is not your ARV. Call the listing broker on the strong comps and ask directly what buyers paid up for. They will usually tell you. Then build the budget backward from the spec the comps demand, and pressure-test the whole deal before you commit. The same underwriting discipline you would use on a rental applies here: [run the numbers cold](/blog/how-to-underwrite-a-multifamily-deal/) before the emotion of a pretty renovation takes over. A renovation plan that ignores comps is not a strategy, it is decorating with borrowed money. This spending logic is specific to flips, where you are renovating to win one buyer's eye. Renovating a rental for durability across years of tenants is a different playbook, covered in [how to renovate a rental you've never seen in person](/blog/renovate-out-of-state/). Addicted to ROI is education and community, not financial or tax advice. Talk to a qualified professional before making investment or tax decisions. ![Jennifer Beadles](/images/founders.jpg) Jennifer Beadles Real estate entrepreneur with 17 years of hands-on investing experience. Built an 8-figure rental portfolio across multiple states and has helped thousands of investors build passive income through the Addicted to ROI community. 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[Subscribe, free →](/newsletter/)[Run a deal in the calculator](/tools/deal-analysis-calculator/) Read next [ ![How to Renovate a Rental You've Never Seen in Person](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1581578731548-c64695cc6952?w=800&q=80) Investment Strategies ### How to Renovate a Rental You've Never Seen in Person 10 min read → ](/blog/renovate-out-of-state/)[ ![How to Determine Fair Market Rent in a Market You Don't Live In](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1554469384-e58fac16e23a?w=800&q=80) Deal Analysis ### How to Determine Fair Market Rent in a Market You Don't Live In 8 min read → ](/blog/fair-market-rent/)[ ![The Questions to Ask Before You Buy in a Market You Don't Live In](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1423666639041-f56000c27a9a?w=800&q=80) Due Diligence ### The Questions to Ask Before You Buy in a Market You Don't Live In 9 min read → ](/blog/market-call-questions/) If you like this ## Read these next Hand-picked to go deeper on real estate. [![How to Renovate a Rental You've Never Seen in Person](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1581578731548-c64695cc6952?w=800&q=80) Real Estate ### How to Renovate a Rental You've Never Seen in Person 10 min read](/blog/renovate-out-of-state/) [![How to Determine Fair Market Rent in a Market You Don't Live In](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1554469384-e58fac16e23a?w=800&q=80) Real Estate ### How to Determine Fair Market Rent in a Market You Don't Live In 8 min read](/blog/fair-market-rent/) [![The Questions to Ask Before You Buy in a Market You Don't Live In](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1423666639041-f56000c27a9a?w=800&q=80) Real Estate ### The Questions to Ask Before You Buy in a Market You Don't Live In 9 min read](/blog/market-call-questions/) [![How to Invest Out of State Without Getting Burned (The One Trap)](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1500382017468-9049fed747ef?w=800&q=80) Real Estate ### How to Invest Out of State Without Getting Burned (The One Trap) 8 min read ](/blog/invest-out-of-state/) Off to go build something. 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