Forever Flipper Finished

[Lael Alon Winer-Cyr]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Marion.

Purchase price: $21,018
Cash invested: $26,533

Under contract, finally, on this long term knocker-downer turned fixer-upper. Purchased dirt cheap in deleterious condition, we slowly upgraded it to a lovely 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom contemporary rustic farm house loaded with charm. Though we never tracked it, there's easily over $100,000 worth of labor poured into it during the 12 years. The listing went active on Oct. 30th at $289,900, and went under contract Nov. 1st for $295,000 despite the problematic neighborhood & slowing market.

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

When we originally bought it we were desperate to get out from rent payments and had little cash with limited financability... so it was literally all we could afford. Starting the game mortgage free took many sacrifices (like bucket bathroom for a few nights) and definitely was hard work and less than ideal living for a while, however I can't stress what a huge positive difference made for us when confronting various life events over the decade! Still mortgage free and proud!

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

We found the deal on Craigslist, of all places. FSBO after no success listing it with a realtor on the MLS. We paid less than half the realtor listing because of lack of commissions. The seller wouldn't take less because it was an inherited property with liens against it... they walked with no debt and like $800.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash advance on a credit card (and then paid off as fast as possible).

How did you add value to the deal?

By living like squatters for years while dumping on oodles of labor and upcycled materials to turn it from a vandalized shack to a vacation-worthy move-in-ready home!