Rookies First Fix and Flip

[Cody Kewley]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $215,000
Cash invested: $70,000
Sale price: $375,000

My wife and I took on this property to live in it because it was so close to her work. The house needed a ton of work; I'm talking about a full-on gut job! We both had minimal construction experience and took our time with this project, mostly on weekends trying to complete it. It took us about a year to renovate because we both worked full-time and didn't have timelines. Blessed to say our first flip was a success.

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

My wife and I wanted to take on our first renovation project. We actually were going to make this a vacation rental or stay in the property when we visited Florida. But we decided to cash out as a fix and flip because we moved to a different state.

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

I Driving for dollars and happened to call the lady who inherited the property. She was going to list it on the market, and I met her at the property and gave her a cash price that she accepted.

The negotiation was fairly simple; she knew it needed a lot of work and all I had to do was pitch her a reasonable offer.

How did you finance this deal?

We used a hard loan from someone new to the real estate game. Since it was his first deal and my first fix and flip, the terms were fairly soft, and he only charged me interest and a balloon payment within a year.

How did you add value to the deal?

I knew that the neighborhood had three beds, and it was also common to have one bath. This house had a converted garage port from the previous owners, so we turned it into a third bedroom. Not to mention we completely gutted the whole house and gave this property the works!

What was the outcome?

We ended up profiting a decent amount off this deal; the only thing we spent too much of was time on this project. However, being profitable on our first flip and renovating the whole house ourselves, I'm proud of ourselves.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons! If you are in Florida, listen up lol!

1.) Insurance is a pain!!! - Make sure you buy the insurance and Hurricane insurance; we were one city over from hurricane Ian!
2.) Contractors - Dont pay contractors till the work is completely done, paying for materials is fine. Also, break up the renovation project into phases, not just one solid lump sum. We ended up not using contracts after a couple of tried to take advantage of us.
3.) With the first project, you will stress! It's normal.

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

We used an agent in Florida that we trusted; his name was Stan Serikov! Best agent out there.