Step 5: Transition from Buyer to Owner

           This step is a conscious shift from being an optimistic buyer to a legal owner.

           The seller showed up on closing day to sign and hand over the keys, so it’s official. Taking a risk on a house that no one else seems to want can feel like a gamble, yet I've always looked at it as a calculated risk. As owner, you’re now in position to get started and increase your odds of making this a profitable decision.

However, the wait is finally over, and it just got real. Investing in a major rehab project is exciting, but this moment of transition might make you anxious. The thing is, it’s too late, and you have too much work to do to have a panic attack.

If the plumbing and electrical systems are in working order, now is the time to get those utilities turned on. Some may prefer to make these arrangements before closing day, but even when this has been an option, I’ve waited until after the deal’s been done.   

Also, with ownership comes access to the interior. Take your pictures and video of the inside before you forget.

As the owner, you’re now entitled to anything remaining from previous inhabitants. If something good has been left behind on the outside, you can now move it indoors.  

Along with your rights, you now have responsibilities. For example, if you leave the place wide open and something were to happen, this could fall back on you, which is why you need to make the place secure. 

You can also start getting to work, and that means bringing in tools and equipment. It's obvious, but still worth pointing out, that if someone wants to get in badly enough, they will. That's why I don't recommend stocking the house with a lot of pricy tools and material on day one. I usually feel alright leaving behind equipment needed for interior cleanup and demolition, things like shovels, my sledgehammer, a wheelbarrow, ladders, and basic hand tools. 
            As far as materials in the first few days, I won’t have many until I’m through with demolition.

Congratulations! You’re no longer going to buy a house to fix-up or flip. It’s done. You’re the owner. You’re a rehabber. But if you’re an aspiring flipper, you’ll have to wait on that tag until you finish and sit on the other side of the table on closing day as a seller.

Time to get to work.