When we purchased this house, we purchased it as a live in flip. It started off very rough. It was a seasonal cabin when we started, and slowly over time we turned it into a great little year round home with prime lake access. We took our time since we really enjoyed living on the lake, and even ended up buying our dream home 8 doors down on the same lake when we flipped it! It was a really great experience!

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

We were looking for our first home, and actually missed out on the house we wanted to live in, but we loved the area, and saw a lot of potential in this little house. We decided to buy it, and fix it up slowly over time, and give the market some time to see what else would come available. Low and behold the house we originally missed came back on the market, and we jumped on it right away.

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

The house was on the market off and on for years. The owners only used it as a vacation home, and were hardly ever there. So we offered $20,000 less than asking price, and we structured it to include everything in the house as well. So all the furniture stayed, as well as the pontoon boat, canoe, and 2 person kayak. It was a really great deal.

How did you finance this deal?

We did conventional 30 year financing

How did you add value to the deal?

We basically took it completely down to studs, re-insulated it all, updated the wiring, and added can lighting in the new ceiling, renovated the kitchen, and added a wood fire insert capable of heating the entire house with ease.

What was the outcome?

The profits from this flip more than covered our down payment on our dream home when it came back on the market.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Their was a steep learning curve. since this house was no more than a cabin, once we tore into the house, a lot of things we weren't expecting became apparent, and we had a lot more to deal with than we had anticipated. It was definitely a challenge, but in the end we both learned so much, and developed confidence in many new skills as a flipper!

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

We did work with an agent, but it did not go real well. So I will not mention a name or company out of both respect, and the fact that I would honestly not recommend them.