The mantra for rehabbing houses in today’s tough housing market may be “buy and hold.”  In other words, it may benefit you to buy a home at a good price and hold onto the property until the market shows signs of rebounding.

The bottom line is that there is money to be made rehabbing houses in today’s real estate market if you follow the rule of “buy low and sell high.”  With that said, home rehabbing, even in the glum housing market, is possible, and can even be quite lucrative, if you follow certain rules:

* Buy the “right” house at the “right” price. Understand that buying the “right” house at the “right”   price always involves conducting research and spending only what the market can bear to fix it up and get it back on the market. In other words, the amount of money you spent rehabbing houses has nothing to do with how you can realistically price the homes.  Focus on fixing up areas that have the highest cost-benefit ratio.

* Consider all of the costs of home rehabbing, including the buying, repairing, carrying, holding and selling costs. Forgetting to include one of these factors in your home rehabbing project could cost you dramatically, especially in today’s tough housing market.

* Find a realtor who specializes in foreclosures. The right realtor can be your key contact point when searching for rehabbing houses.

* Focus on one niche area. Make it your mission to become educated on one, particular area so that you can scout out the best property for your home rehabbing project. Researching a particular area can help you better understand the local real estate market, the average costs of homes in the area, and the real estate values and trends.  In home rehabbing, it always pays to be your area’s specialist.

* Look for the “easy” fixes. Many home rehabbing experts focus on the homes that need only cosmetic work, instead of the homes that need gutted and rebuilt, from the inside out. This may be the best first step when rehabbing houses in today’s shaky housing market, as it will eliminate the need to make a large investment into any one property.

* Keep your finances healthy. With financing options tight due to the current credit crisis, it is vital to maintain a sparkling credit score so that you can get the best financing possible for your home rehabbing projects. In other words, don’t lose your precious profit margin from rehabbing houses by paying more in interest fees and charges!

* It may make more sense to live in the home you are rehabbing, for many reasons. First, it will eliminate the time pressure to get the house sold in a pre-determined amount of time. Secondly, it will allow you to wait for the right moment to sell the house, instead of selling it while the market is still in a slump.  In addition, it will save you from all of the holding costs associated with rehabbing houses.  Lastly, should you live in the home rehabbing project for at least two years, then you can sell the home at a profit – and not have to pay capital gains taxes!

Savvy home rehabbing experts can make money in any market.  In a shaky real estate market, however, you simply need to ensure that you are making smart, practical, and cost-effective decisions in rehabbing houses for a profit.