Our first live-in flip, Chicago, IL

[Tanya Springer]

Investment Info:

Condo fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $285,000
Cash invested: $31,000
Sale price: $400,000

We purchased this condo back when we were still living in Chicago. We lived in it for two years, but we did very minimal upgrades (I am a designer and project manager). We lived here just about 2 years and were able to not pay capital gains, so we walked away with $100k, $69k profit. The cash invested above also included our mortgage, so we walked away living for free for 2 years!

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

We needed a place to live, and we saw an opportunity to put a little investment into this space to upgrade it since we knew it was a short term solution.

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

We first found it on Zillow, overpriced. After a month or so, it dropped into our price range. The sellers were motivated, so we put in a low offer and after negotiations, we got it for about 10k more than we offered.

How did you finance this deal?

traditional loan

How did you add value to the deal?

We repainted the whole unit, everything was honey oak wood-wise, so we stained the doors, updated the hardware, stained the windows, and painted the fireplace and trim white.

What was the outcome?

It looked much more updated than when we purchased it, and we made sure to tie the colors into the existing kitchen because it was an open floor plan. That made the space look more cohesive, even though the kitchen was not what I would have chosen. It made the space look intentional.

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

Yes, I had a great agent, Gwen Stark (in Chicago, IL)