First out of state flip

[Stacee Evans]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $67,000
Cash invested: $95,000
Sale price: $229,000

This was a burn house that needed a major rehab. I think the only part of the house that wasn't damaged was the brick fireplace. I decided to do a small flip for my firsts out of state, but the numbers never seemed to work so why not start with practically rebuilding a house? The good part is nothing can come up once you open the walls that are not there. The first set of photos are before and last set after.

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

This Texas flip happened while living and California because of Biggerpockets.com and specifically starting with reading Long-Distance Real Estate Investing by David Green and 90 Days of Intention Journal by Brandon Turner. I decided to just invest in something different and new. I spent quote a bit of time researching how to flip. I would say after tons of researching, analysis, the one thing that made me pull the trigger was my mastermind group that BP put me with. They were relentless.

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

I went through a wholesaler to find the deal that told me the rehab would be $95k and it would sell for $210k. He also said he'd help me anytime. The rehab was right on and the selling price was more! He checked in on me on a regular basis and when I asked for advice from him, he gave me great advice and on more than one occasion went to the house to check on it and give me updates and even sent me pictures and videos. I paid his asking price.

How did you finance this deal?

I "paid cash" ,but I financed with a 401k loan, credit card advances (0% interest and 3% fee) and personal loan from a friend at 5.99%.

How did you add value to the deal?

I purchased it before seeing it (because I lost a couple deals) and then set up 4 interviews with my top pick contractors. I had my fiance (who is a handyman) fly out and interview the contractors and chose the one that referred me the deal. He was working on other projects in the neighborhood so he was able to see those.

What was the outcome?

This was sold through a realtor and I had a nice profit as well as learning quite a bit. The realtor was fantastic. There were were lots of bumps during the sale, but her knowledge and excellent communication skills make the deal come together.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned the team of people that you work with is key. There can always be unexpected challenges but that should actually be expected. The sale wasn't going to go thorough until the last minute, so I also looked into renting out the house and leaned quite a bit while setting up my plan B.

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

I highly recommend my realtor, Sharon Tzib if you need a good realtor in the Houston, TX area.