There is no single recipe for success when it comes to fix and flip enterprises. Like buying a home with bad credit, you sometimes have to rely on others and work with what you’ve got. That said, you’re not reinventing the wheel. There are steps you can take to choose wisely and maximize profits. Here are a few strategies to try.

1. Buy In Up-and-Coming Areas

If you can buy in areas that are undergoing revitalization, you stand to see lower costs, quicker turnaround, and greater profits in the process. You just have to be careful that you don’t get in too early, when sales are slow, or too late, when costs are already rising.

2. Get a Real Estate License

There are a number of ways in which this strategy could boost fix and flip profits. First, it will save you money. When you act as your own agent, you can get a commission on purchases and reduce commissions when you sell.

In addition, you can get the inside track on new property listings. Plus, you can communicate with a network of other industry professionals that can keep you in the loop on opportunities you might not otherwise know about. This could help you to find valuable properties, sometimes before they even hit the market.

3. Calculate Potential Costs Ahead of Time

Just because you’re planning to complete renovations and sell your home within 60 days doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. You need to have a contingency plan in place to account for potential cost discrepancies such as construction setbacks, unknown code violations, continuing mortgage payments, and so on.

Before you approach hard money lenders in California or New York for funding, you need to have a clear idea of potential costs beyond the purchase price of the home and intended renovations.

4. Buy in Cash

Most people simply can’t afford to purchase a home outright. However, if you can swing it, you stand to get a great deal by walking into negotiations with a cash offer in hand. In addition, you can avoid mortgage and interest payments in the process.

Keep in mind that working with private money lenders could net you the “cash in hand” you need to make a cash offer. Although you will still have to pay back the money with interest when you sell the home (or make monthly interest payments, much like a mortgage payment), you will increase your negotiating power in the process.