See pics at the end! A lot of people have asked me to write about it and share some of the details. I hope this helps those of you that maybe run similar large groups, or those of you who just want to get more confident with the idea of flipping.
It all started in November 2017 when I announced at one of my monthly meetings that I wanted to teach people how to flip, but I wanted to do it inside the actual home. In other words, a real hands-on type of flip. I am not a big fan of the many "Gurus" who charge big money for low quality events that never really teach anyone how to do anything. I believe if you want to learn to flip and learn how to do a flip on your own from beginning to end, you need to get inside the home and actually see how the work is done, how to project manage it, how to save money on rehab, pick the designs, stick to your budget, flip to the neighborhood comps, and market the home at the end.
I chose a home in the Sacramento area, a 3/3 1650 sq ft home almost 30 years old that needed to be completely remodeled. A lot of people ask how I find my homes. I have a lot of different ways, but this one was brought to me by a local wholesaler who attends my meetings. He had the property under contract with the seller at $200K and was asking $235K. I walked the home, ran my comps and felt the home was worth $235K in it's current condition, so we did an assignment and I closed the deal in the name of my Corporation.
The challenge for me was project managing this flip with 1,400+ people in mind, knowing that only a few would probably actually come to the home to work and learn. I decided to schedule specific work days, with a project in mind, and also take questions.
Our first work day was the "Demo Day", which I scheduled 2 weeks into the purchase to give everyone time to RSVP and attend. I knew I could hold about 30 people inside the home and teach, but it would be really crowded. I had over 100 people RSVP, so I let the first 30 people attend the event inside the home. All 30 showed up on time at 9am on a Saturday morning!
The Demo Day was a great day of showing people how we demo tile flooring, laminate and carpet. How we demo bathrooms and kitchens, etc... It was also an opportunity to take questions for about an hour. I found that once inside the flip, many of the questions were much better than the questions I get at my meetings. Not everyone wanted to actually get their hands dirty, but everyone who watched seemed to really enjoy watching the house being torn apart! Most people told me they were surprised at how much work it is, and how long it takes to gut a home.
The next meeting was a "Flooring Installation Day". We brought another 30 people into the home and showed how we prepare, and start the installation of Pergo flooring. The hard work was done in advance of leveling the cement floor with a 7" diamond grinder and a lot of dust!!!! Yes, we used a vacuum dust collection system, but it is never enough, dust gets everywhere! We started by putting down a Pergo approved barrier on the floor, which is waterproof. We then used a laser to align the first plank and showed everyone how to keep your lines straight and your floor solid, with good expansion gaps. We then let people help out and try their hand at installing a few boards. People are always surprised at how easy it is to install this type of flooring, if you have good equipment. A really good chop saw or the equivalent is a plus.
The flooring day was a huge success. I also took the time to answer questions for over an hour before and after the flooring work.
The last day we got together as a group was the "Design Day". The home was about 90% done at this point, but I had another 30 people come in and learn about design, and how to flip to your neighborhood. For a lot of people, this was a priceless event, as they really have a tough time with design. Design to me is just knowing what colors to use, what materials, and how to put it all together to make it look nice for the area. There were so many great questions that I did nothing but answer for almost 2.5 hours! We also showed our choices for outdoor landscaping at this event and how we did all the outdoor area and made them look amazing for under $3,000!
This was my first experience with teaching a large number of people how to flip and doing it inside the actual property. I get asked to teach people how to flip all the time. I did this project for free and did not charge anyone.
You may be asking, "what about all the other work on the property" Yes, most of the work was done away from the group, simply because of time constraints and 1,400 + members is a lot of people! It's easy to teach with a TV show, where 1,000's can watch, but bringing people inside the home is a huge challenge. There is so much more I want to say, but I think you get the idea.
I spent almost exactly $50K on the rehab and profited almost exactly $50K, after all expenses and closing costs, etc... It took us about 75 days to complete the flip, which would have been faster but pausing for training days slowed the progress. The home was listed and sold in 4 days! It was by far the nicest home in the zip code for sale!
