First Flip $60k profit but a lot of headache lol

[Hoa Nguyen]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $88,000
Cash invested: $25,000
Sale price: $179,900

I got this deal from an agent who was initially going to list it publicly but thought of me first. The property was in a great market but needed a full cosmetic rehab and basement finish to add a bedroom and increase resale value. The rehab took 5 months and I did 90% of the work myself, saving $30k but losing a lot of time. In the future, I’ll factor in contractor costs more. The property sat on the market for a month before an offer came in, but the buyer backed out at closing. Thankfully, int

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

Being an agent I knew the market and the potential it had.

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

The deal fell into my lap. I posted on Facebook that I was looking to buy a flip, and a fellow agent sent me some details about a property she was going to list.

How did you finance this deal?

Hard Money finance, with about $5k of my own funds going into some over-budget costs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Full cosmetic rehab, added AC, new electric, new waterlines, and added a finished room in the basement space.

What was the outcome?

$60k profit pre-tax. And A LOT of learning lessons.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

1. Will not be doing the work myself again
2. Plan for the unexpected
3. Whatever the initial budget is, plan for 20% more.

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

I was the agent, so I recommend myself for all your southwestern IL investments.
I used Three Doors in St. Louis for the hard money loan. Their fees and interest rates were high, but they had the least restrictive approval terms from what I gathered.