My First Flip (with Pics!)- Small $$ Profit - Big Exp. Profit

[Victor Eng]

Hi All -

My first flip closed yesterday, mostly cosmetic, and I wanted to share my experience with you guys. This was done in Massachusetts. I'll try to make it concise but it may get a bit lengthy!! I pretty much broke even with this deal and I want to share where I messed up and will be sure to catch next time around! Let's get started! The numbers first:

Purchase Price: $430,000 (Auction) (3 Normal Bed, 1 Master, 2 Full Baths, 1 Master Bath, Pool, Cathedral Living Room Ceiling, Attached 2 car Garage, Swimming Pool, 3500sqft on 1 acre)

Outstanding Town Liens: $94,000 (I knew this as this was announced at auction. I thought it was a mistake. But taxes are about 10-12k per year on this property and the previous homeowner was delinquent for several years)

Cash for Keys: $20,000 (The homeowner agreed to vacate by a certain date to avoid a drawn out legal process, which they threatened to do)

Cleanout: $750 (The place was a complete mess)

Initial Cleaning: $150 (I at least needed to get the place tidied up a bit before painters would come)

Kitchen Repainting / Spraying Makeover: $11,500

Fresh Paint on Most Rooms (Ceiling, Walls, Trims): $12,500

Hardwood Floor (Sand, Stain, Re-finish): $4,500 

New Carpets in all 4 bedrooms: $4,500

Lawn Debris and Hydroseed: $6,000 (and weekly lawncare until sale but that was cheap)

Electrician: $1,000 (Smokes Inspection and fixed a few recessed lights + other minor)

HVAC: $1,000 (Garbage Disposal Replacement, HVAC filter replacement + others

Window Cleaning: $500

Mold Remediation: $1,000 (Bathroom Ceiling)

Carpentry: $5,000 (Bunch of stuff)

Miscellaneous Materials: $2,000

Final Cleaning: $300

Staging: $4,500

New Washer and Dryer: $1,000 

Total: ~$600,200 (+- 2-3k)

Listed Price: 669,000

Sale Price: 644,500 

After broker + legal Proceeds: 606,000

Profit: ~6k 

Time Held: Bought in April, Roughly 6 Months.

I didn't make much from this deal, but the experience I got was awesome. I tried to cheap out on the hardwood floor vendor, so I got a lot of negative comments from buyers and had to wiggle on price. The painting of ceilings was also unnecessary in hindsight, and think I could've gotten away with that. I also did a lot of the above things sequentially, instead of having multiple vendors in the house at the same time. I think I could have gotten away with certain items, especially the landscaping. I did that too late and needed to wait 3 weeks for the sprouting so it would show better.

PICTURES (BEFORE)

AFTER PICS