First "fix and flip"

[Daniel Sacco]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Brockton.

Purchase price: $195,000
Cash invested: $20,000
Sale price: $350,000

https://www.zillow.com/homes/61-Sherman-St-Brockton,-MA,-02302_rb/57167285_zpid/

We purchased this forclosure using a hard money loan from a family member. It was a team effort, with me being in charge of the design layout and building. With this home being our first fix and flip, our timeline took a bit longer than expected. It all worked out in the end and was an excellent learning experience. Looking forward to the next.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I have always enjoyed creating and take pride in the work I build. Being a carpenter, I enjoy making something from nothing... taking something run down and bring it back to life. It seemed like the perfect line of work.

How did you finance this deal?

We were able to close on this great deal because we had a hard money loan. That being said, we did not have to wait on any bank approval or stipulations.

How did you add value to the deal?

We were able to almost eliminate labor costs by doing the work ourselves. I was in charge of the building and design renovations. We were also able to get creative using "Facebook market place" and "craigslist" to find great deals on things we needed.

What was the outcome?

The outcome was better than anyone could have predicted (minus the investor). When the buyer's inspectors came to look at the house they were taken back by the finished product. In their words, they said "the craftsmanship is impeccable" and that "you just don't see work like this nowadays". By the end of the inspection, they hadn't filled anything out to report back to the buyers. I think they realized they needed to add something and jotted down 2 simple things to do.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

So many lessons learned on this project... The organization, planning, and time management are key things to keep in mind.
Also if you tend to be handy and know how to do a lot of stuff, you need to know when to draw the line and just hire it out versus doing it yourself. This was one of the ways we fell behind schedule. In our case, money was tight, but it ended up working out just fine.