Greenhills Fix and Flip

[Rebecca Sequeira]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $67,000
Cash invested: $32,000
Sale price: $127,500

Historic townhouse in Greenhills, OH. 2 bed/1bath. Also finished most of the basement to add additional living space.

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

I love to fix up houses and re-sell them. Greenhills is an historic area - built as part of the "New Deal" efforts in the 30's.

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

I was in a wholesaling class, and the homework assignment was to call a FSBO on Zillow. There was a nice looking townhouse listed which was already renovated, but I needed to make calls so I called anyway. The guy that had flipped that one also had this one, but he hadn't started on it. But he was worn out and said he would prefer to sell it rather than rehab it. So we negotiated back and forth to make it work for both of us.

How did you finance this deal?

Paid cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

The unit had originally been part of a parcel with the one next door, which he had rehabbed. But he had it surveyed and split the parcels. The parcel we bought had 2 garage bays with it (he didn't put a garage with the other parcel that he rehabbed and sold). So we knew that added more value. As we were working on it, the owner of the unit on the other side of the garages asked me if I would sell him one of the garages. We sold it for $10k, and sold the townhouse for $117,500.

What was the outcome?

We made more money by parceling off the 2nd garage and selling it for $10k. Originally had planned to list the unit for $120 with 2 garages (most units were selling around $110k).

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned how to get a survey done to split a parcel. I learned to think more creatively. We also sold the garage on creative terms - we got $5k down and we created a note/mortgage for the remainder to be paid over 5 years, so we are collecting $161/month now.

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

I am also a realtor, so I represented myself.