Flipping houses is a risky business. You never quite know what the real estate market will do next. Maybe you can buy low and sell high. Possibly you buy low and have to sell lower. Flipping houses is like going to Vegas and gambling, but with much bigger dollar amounts.

There are a few items that when done correctly, add incredible value to the home. Here are the main areas of a house we feel you should focus the majority of your time and money into.

The Kitchen...

Now we should state, if the home already has a decent kitchen, and the rest of the house is an eye sore; focus elsewhere. But if you need to get the biggest bang for your buck, redoing a kitchen is a nice place to start.

It is amazing how much nicer a kitchen can look with new appliances, a thoughtful backsplash design, and refurbished cabinets. If you are really going for a difference maker, make the kitchen fit into a new open style concept. Tear down a major wall and create sightlines from the kitchen. This really adds value to home, and is a nice selling point for families with young children.

Add an extra bathroom...

Adding a powder room on the main floor is a nice touch, but if you are looking to really skyrocket the value of the home, add an extra full bathroom. I usually recommend adding a full bath that can be accessed by all in the house, but there has been success in adding a bathroom onto a specific room.

If the master bedroom does not have its own on-suite, adding that is definitely a good idea. You could even add this full bathroom onto another bedroom and have two master suites in the household. Try to keep your costs down by building a full bathroom near the pipes necessary for the job. Rerouting pipes from one side of the house to the other will really eat into your budget.

Upgrades you should avoid...

Above we listed two great ideas to really add value to your home. In this section we want to point out a few things to try and avoid when flipping a house.

First off, stay away from improvements where potential buyers cannot see the work that was done. A great example of this is the insulation in your home. I am not suggesting you leave your home un-insulated, but choosing the most expensive foam option is a mistake.

Telling a buyer you own the most insulated house on the block will not impress them. Buyers want to see the improvements to the house, and anything covered up by drywall does not excite them (even though it probably should).

Another good example is changing out the 3m filtrete on your furnaces. I think changing out the 3m filtrete is a great idea if your house is going on the market right away. With that said, there is no need to be buying filters for the whole year when you are planning on selling your house ASAP.

Lastly, try as hard as you can to not get rid of any bedrooms or offices. I know in some cases this works out great,  and maybe you took away an office to make the master bedroom double in size. But the fact is, most times when you take away a bedroom the value of your house takes a hit.

So really think long and hard about where to put your money when flipping a home. Take a few days, mull things over, and then get right to work. Hopefully these suggestions are of some use to you when flipping your next house!