Classic fix and flip. We had 3 exit strategies, and ultimately went with the safest and least amount of time invested. This was our first long-distance flip, which was about 3 hours from our local market.

Brass tacks:
4 months into the deal
Visited the property a total of 5 times
Hired a contractor local in that area
Split just about $100,000 between my partner and I. (I had additional carrying costs from a HELOC, which meant I walked with around $45,000).

Aquisition:
We found this deal on a wholesalers website who we keep an eye on. The home was a big interior and exterior clean up with minor construction. We competed against 1 other buyer. We had our offer in first, it was at asking (same as the other buyer), and we were paying cash (they were using hard money). We won out mainly for purchasing without a loan (yes, hard money, although strong, can still go sideways in a deal). We ended up closing in 3 days from making our offer.

Exit Strategies:
Option #1: 2 years - Renovate the upstairs and finish out the basement. Rent out both units to cover the mortgage while we subdivided the land and built properties to sell on the back half of the land.
Option #2: 1 year - Same as option 1, however, instead of building more units, sell off the lots to builders.
Option #3: 4 months - Renovate and sell. We opted to go with a smaller renovation and it really helped. There was downward compression on pricing with local comps, high interest rates, and a softening buyer pool.

We opted for option 3 for the safest bet in a stagnating market and tight funds. We were very lucky to exit when we did and had a great real estate sales team to help. Because we were out of market, I decided not to sell myself (as a licensed broker), and instead, rely on the local professionals. We interviewed 3 realtors:

Realtors:
Realtor #1: 6% sales fee - very friendly but very "salesy". I really liked the wife and husband team, and got along great. However, they did not have conviction in the sales price we wanted, nor confidence in the comps that they pulled.
Realtor #2: 3% sales fee - did not get along with this realtor at all. He was agitated and seemed like he didn't want to be there. He immediately started diminishing the sales proposition I had for the house. Every positive I brought up he had a negative rebuttal. His suggested price was about $75k under what we ended up selling it at. It was not a great personality fit, nor a good business relationship.
Realtor #3: 4% sales fee - was very straight forward and objective. He came prepared and had great experience. He also had a great team. During the interview process, he spoke plainly and objectively and understood the plan. During the process, the communication and execution was spot on.

We opted for realtor #3 would be happy to give their recommendation if you are selling in the Portland area.

Contractors:
Found our contractor from an old contact referral. We tried some craigslist and marketplace ads. We compared 3 total bids. Luckily the personal referral had the most competitive bid and ended up going that direction. Ultimately, we were very happy with our decision.

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

The delta between purchase price and ARV was the most appealing. However, we had multiple exit strategies. With this particular partner, we've done 2 flips together and both times agreed on a quicker exit strategy. That was a huge benefit in this case for many reasons, but the most important one, was the softening market.

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

We found this deal on a wholesalers website who we keep an eye on. The home was a big interior and exterior clean up with minor construction. We competed against 1 other buyer. We had our offer in first, it was at asking (same as the other buyer), and we were paying cash (they were using hard money). We won out mainly for purchasing without a loan (yes, hard money, although strong, can still go sideways in a deal). We ended up closing in 3 days from making our offer.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash + HELOC + partner

How did you add value to the deal?

Exterior and interior clean up, minor construction

What was the outcome?

4 months from start to finish and a $100,000 profit (split 50/50 with my partner and me).

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We are open to more out of area flips and areas of greater opportunity.

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

Yes, the realtors we worked with were fantastic and would recommend them to anyone in the Portland, OR area. (I am also a licensed agent in the same state). So, I feel as though I am speaking from experience, that paying a little extra and going with a stellar sales team was more than worth it than trying to sell it ourselves out of area.