Condo remodel in an old historic hotel

[Daniel Guest]

Investment Info:

Condo fix & flip investment in Helena.

Purchase price: $79,000
Cash invested: $16,600
Sale price: $143,500

This nice little condo is located in an old historic hotel known as the Placer, in down town Helena, MT. This was a 1 Bdrm, 1 Ba unit with mountain views. A highlight of this unit is the high ceilings with a quaint modern feel and nicely appointed kitchen. Old drop ceilings were removed and custom made accent lighting installed to maintain an open feel but hide the industrial piping on the ceiling.

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

I liked the aesthetics of the property. The quaint old hotel building was really cool and the location in the historic district of down town Helena made it very appealing.

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

I found this deal on an auction site. I got it for less then the reserve price because they thought that it was still occupied. There was a lot of red tape to deal with which I think frightened other investors off.

How did you finance this deal?

I financed this deal with personal money and a line of credit on my personal property.

How did you add value to the deal?

I removed drop ceiling tiles and added custom accent lighting, completely updated the kitchen, and painted everything. I also added a lot of detailed trimmings.

What was the outcome?

Every person that looked at the property just loved the remodel, particularly the lighting. I made a cool $48k out of the deal which was nice and the new owners are really excited to live in this space.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I had never worked on a remodel in a commercial building before, let alone a condo. I had to apply for permits that I was not anticipating and I had to hire work done that I was not counting on either. Ultimately this project ended up taking and extra month to renovate as a result of the slow moving permitting process.

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

I bought the property without a realtor and I listed it using a fixed price listing agent. The selling process actually went very well and I think I got a pretty good price.