First one done

[Hank Sacco]

Just closed the sale on my first flip. I made about 9% C on C so ending up on the plus side was good but things could have been better. I self funded this project so carrying costs for taxes, insurance, utilities and lawn care were under $250 per month. If I had a HML this might have been a disaster.

I bought a SFH in Dekalb County Ga, on Dec 30, '14. $24,000 reno was to take 6 weeks. It took 16. We had the photographer in as soon as the work was finished which was a good thing since all the appliances were stolen three days later. They also pulled the copper line set out of the A/C. They got about $1.50 worth of copper I got a 1,000 repair bill.

Listed on MLS and got an offer the first week which blew up immediately on credit issues. Next offer came 3 months later in August for a September close. The day before closing I got an email from the buyers mortgage broker. They just learned the buyer took out a car loan (undisclosed) after applying for the loan. I probably could have terminated the contract and kept the earnest money but selling the house was my priority so I agreed to extend the contract. Getting that mess fixed took about another month. Finally it closed and I am much smarter than I was a year ago.

Some lessons learned:

new roofs, siding repairs and structural work are important but don't add to resale value.  I'll discount the purchase price more to really reflect this next time.

Next contractor will get funds based on solely on completion of specific tasks with specified dates and penalties.  I now know I need my own set of keys and not to rely on the contractor's lockbox.

Pay more attention to the immediate area.  This house was on a small cul-de-sac. Nice house with driveway and garage but lots of neighbor cars parked on the street.  I think it turned off some folks.

I'll probably put a wireless security system in the next property also.