We bought a fix and flip but moved in

[Jonathan Boyd]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $85,000
Cash invested: $120,000

Bought this house from our advertising campaign to flip. During the renovation, we decided to move in due to expecting another child and unexpected health challenges. While most of the flip was cosmetic (paint, floors, doors, countertops, appliances, etc) we did enclose the garage. This took it from a 2b/2ba to a 3b/2ba with an enclosed laundry room. All cash invested was $120,000; appraised at refinancing for $200,000

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

The seller's starting price in negotiation already made sense

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

Direct mail marketing campaign. Negotiation strong point was the seller had been burned by renters and needed to walk away- including leaving all the left trash and furniture

How did you finance this deal?

Cash for purchase and some borrowed family money for rehab

How did you add value to the deal?

Enclosed garage adding 3rd bedroom and square footage, added all new appliances, and total cosmetic update.

What was the outcome?

The house looked so nice my wife asked to move in (which was good timing because we just found out we were expecting another child!) We made a few changes in the design, asked to have the garage enclosed, and moved in. :)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The challenge was I had just fallen into some pretty big health challenges and wasn't able to stay on top of everything rehab related. Our contractor is experienced with flips, and knew what to do- I just let him go and he got it done. That came at a cost, and the lesson learned is to shop around and network to find good deals on contractors.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Ryan Blackstone helped with contracts and analysis and I can't recommend him enough! He still works with me on all my business.