First fix and flip project was a flooded home in Katy TX. Purchased the home using our own cash and some creative financing without a bank or a HML or private money. Cash invested includes purchase, rehab, and holding costs. A handful of lessons were learned from start to finish on this project but we still made a profit even after we exceeded our rehab budget! It was a great experience and we will apply those lessons on the next project!

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

The deal fell into my lap and the purchase price was to good to pass on.

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

The deal came to me. I had been having some small talk with others that I was on the hunt for a home to flip. One of my friends whom knew I was in the market for a flip brought me the deal from someone he knew. Friend of a friend you could say.

How did you finance this deal?

I paid cash for the purchase and the holding costs and my partner fronted the cash for the rehab.

How did you add value to the deal?

There was a random room with no closet which had the house listed as a 3/2. We ended u adding a closet and turning the home into a 4/2. We also knocked down the wall between the living room and the kitchen which ended up being a load bearing wall so we installed a nice beam which really made added to the look.

What was the outcome?

House sold for $208k.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

If FEMA did work on a house you recently purchased or are looking to buy, just assume they did a poor job. The sheet-rock they used was not the same thickness as the existing so the wall had this odd recess where the new sheet-rock was and the electrical work that was done by FEMA was not to code. Somehow the previous owners didn't have a house fire because of it. With that being said, we assumed since FEMA did the electrical that it was installed to code. The whole house had to be rewired. $$$

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

Use Listing Spark or a listing service when listing a flip or even selling your personal home. It saved us over $6k by not having to list it with a realtor. I held the open house myself and it was very easy and well worth it. Nothing against realtors but when you hold an open house on a home that clearly has been flipped, be prepared to answer questions in detail regarding what is behind the walls and the type of materials used etc. Since I was active in the project I answered with ease.