Our first ever fix and flip. It was built in 2001 by people who had no business holding a hammer. It was a foreclosure that the bank let sit sealed up with a metal roof that was installed wrong. It molded up like a forgotten sandwich in the back of a fridge. Luckily most of the mold was contained in the insulation suspended ceiling. We gutted most of the house and updated it over a 2 year (almost) time period. Took the money and reinvested 4 months later.

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

My father is a contractor, so I grew up in and around remodeling houses. I knew I could remodel a house no problem, I just needed it to be the right price. I chose to flip for my first investment because fixing is what I knew at the time. I didn't understand a lot about real estate then, but I figured that's what the real estate agent was for. My goal from the start was to gain capital. We had sold everything that wasn't nailed down to get enough cash to get the house

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found the deal on zillow, asking price was something ridiculous like 150k and had been up for 1 year. We went and looked at it after finding out that most real estate agents in the area were refusing to show their clients the house because it smelled like mold. We made an offer of 50k to the bank for the property which they swiftly rejected but did counter. That told us they were willing to talk. We went back and forth until we settled at 70k

How did you finance this deal?

We went FHA 203k rehab loan with a 5% down payment.

How did you add value to the deal?

We installed gable over hangs while installing a new metal roof that we got for 60% off because it has been sitting at the lumber yard for 2 years unclaimed. We removed inside petitions and added a tray ceiling to really grab you attention when you walked in. Added a master bath and moved/ enlarged the first bath. We cut down from 4 bedrooms to 3 bedrooms.

What was the outcome?

House sold after 3 months on the market and we walked away with a six figure check which open the doors to real estate investing. The buyer loved the hose so much he went bought the same furniture we had to recreate how it was when we showed it.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The biggest lesson learned wasn't even about real estate though there was plenty there too. It was about our selves and what we can achieve. We sacrificed a lot to get to the house. We still worked a full time job while we remodeled the house and lived out of boxes. I slept 2.5 to 3 hours a night for the first month/month and half. I had days there was no light at the end of the tunnel and had major buyers remorse but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. It all worked out and changed our lives for the better.