First accidental flip, 1178 Isabelle Pl Windsor ON Canada

[David Larocque]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $105,000
Cash invested: $27,000
Sale price: $168,000

It was a 3 bed 1 bath, unfinished full height basement. This was a bank repo that had good bones but needed deep cosmetic and layout changes.

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

My wife and I were newly married, and it made me sick to my stomach to pay rent to my landlord every month knowing I would never see any of that money again. We started to look at properties to purchase, but since we have very little money and I worked in construction we knew we could not afford something nice, but rather we would have to look at distressed properties and MAKE it nice.

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

MLS. We gave the bank our offer based on days on the market and the work it needed.

How did you finance this deal?

We didn't have the 5% down needed. We used a mortgage+ improvement program for up to 30% of the mortgage amount. I collected quotes for material and contractors to maximize the amount. I then borrowed the 27k (renovation amount approved) from my dad's LOC and explained to him that once the renovations were completed I would pay him back. We used that amount for our 5% down, did the râpais ourselves for 18k and bought our appliances with the rest.

How did you add value to the deal?

Fully gutted the kitchen, bathroom, change all the doors and trim, new electrical and plumbing, refinished hardwood floors.

What was the outcome?

This house was a record setting sale at the time. The basement was unfinished and sold for 10k more then comps with a finished basement.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

It taught us the power of real estate and also how much we enjoy creating and designing spaces. It left us wanting to do more of it.