All Forum Posts by: Haley Elisabeth

Just an update: Someone said they should use an off-color white, not straight white, to hide the stains. 

Any other advice would be appreciated :) 

There is essentially a black/stainless steel stove. We are getting a new fridge, dishwasher, and microwave to match! 

Hey, BiggerPockets community! 👋

We recently purchased a property in Columbia, TN, for $135,000 and plan to flip it. It’s a modest home, and we aim for broad appeal with a neutral, updated look that attracts a wide range of buyers. This will be our first flip, so we’d love your input on a few design decisions.

Siding Color

We need to replace the vinyl siding and are torn about what color to choose. Currently, we’re considering white as the replacement option. Do you think sticking with white is a safe choice, or is there another color that would add some more curb appeal while remaining neutral?

Exterior Paint

The home has a concrete foundation wall that extends about 3 feet up before the siding starts. We’re considering painting it black to create contrast and a more modern look. Does black make sense here, or would another color or treatment work better?

Flooring

We plan to install luxury vinyl planks (LVP) throughout the home for the flooring. We want something neither light nor dark—maybe a mid-tone that won’t show too much wear. Is this a good approach, or should we look at a different shade or finish?

Wall and Trim Colors

For the interior walls, we’re considering using Sherwin-Williams “Snowbound.” Should we choose this color, or is there a better neutral option? We’re also debating whether to paint the walls, trim, and ceilings the same color to give them a cohesive feel. Would this work, or do you recommend using a slightly different shade for trim and ceilings?

Kitchen Finishes

The kitchen will have white cabinets and white subway tile. We’re considering adding black hardware and a black faucet for some contrast. Is this neutral enough, or should we add more color somewhere to make it stand out?

Would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and any design tips that have worked well for your flips. We want to create a fresh home without turning off potential buyers.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

Hi all!

We are new to real estate investing. Currently we have a home improvement/remodeling company, so the construction piece we have including many sub crews. We are looking to add flipping houses and have been diving into learning all about this area of real estate.

Our main question is - why not use your own cash for flipping vs. financing? Then taking any cash made on that project, reinvesting it into the next, and growing cash reserved over time. We hear a lot about hard money lending, utilizing the BRRR method for holding properties, etc. But at the same time, we also hear story after story of the investors losing almost everything at some point or losing large amounts of money due to the financing.

Besides it being much slower start up to self-fund, why not use cash instead of financing to avoid the risk? Yes, there's still risk of losing some cash but at that rate you could just hold the property longer if needed. You're not worried about monthly interest payments, loan origination fees, etc. 

We are wondering if we are missing something here. Thank you so much in advance!

 

Quote from @Mark Cruse:

I have not read all the responses yet, but just on the face of this I would not fully pull out of a business that is stable, which provides stable income to go into full time flipping. Id either leave my spouse, or a partner, or someone I can train to run that while I get my feet wet with the flipping to see how it goes. You say he didnt like managing that other person. What if you sell, get in, and figure out you dont like managing the 10 thousand aspects of flipping from beginning to end. The plan sounds great and cool mapped out on keyboards but flipping rarely goes that smooth. Its vastly erratic and unpredictable. Things can be going great for 2 months then be headed for disaster the next week. Markets change all the time. Flipping can be feasible in one area for years and be a total bust the next year when every project comes in at a loss. Can you handle all that if you have to eat from those profits? Its great you have the construction experience to back you up but good luck on depending on this to consistently provide. My advice is to keep what you have running. Find someone who you do like managing to manage it and keep it moving. Start flipping on the side  and once that experience is on par and you have determined you like it, then move on it. You are ahead of the curve to some degree compared to others, but most moving into this space now lose. Most quit during or after the first project. Those that stick around, they continue to lose until they understand fully what they have embarked on. Construction is great, but flipping has dozens of moving parts simultaneously, with hundreds of elements to manage. What if you dont like managing any of those aspects? Best of luck but that is my advice. 

Hi Mark! Thank you so much for your help and input. It's helpful to hear so many perspectives on this & the other aspects of flipping beyond construction.

When you mention the other elements to manage beyond construction - do you mean the real estate side of buying/selling/financing or is there more than that you are referring to?

Quote from @Aaron Giggers:

@Caleb Brown I love this answer. You definitely would have to streamline and systematize the busniess before its marketable. I would do this anyway to relieve yourself a bit (of time and stress). If you already have a structured business why start from scratch again? Find a way to (eventually) incorporate flipping into your business.

 Thank you so much for your reply & advice! We really appreciate it.

Quote from @Karen Wanamarta:

@Haley Elisabeth I would not sell a stable business, especially if you are new to flipping. Flips are sitting on the market longer, inventory is up and demand is down year over year. I would use hard money to start. Paying interest is better than not being able to access your money unless you can comfortably take a 100k swing in your finances. If you have enough equity in your personal home, you could consider doing a cash out refi and using that to start your flips. Happy to talk more in depth. Feel free to DM. 

 Thank you for taking your time to reply! We really appreciate it. Good to hear from a local voice, as well!

Quote from @Tony Savage:

Hello Haley,

I sent you a request to connect.  I will be in Nashville 8/3 to 8/5 meeting with fellow investors. let's meet for coffee.

 Thank you so much! I will reach out!

Quote from @Mitch Messer:

Quote from @Caleb Brown:

Quote from @Haley Elisabeth:

Quote from @Caleb Brown:

Is the business able to be sellable? If it is not set up with systems and people in place to run it you will be mainly selling your book of business. I would not sell. If he hates managing he needs to hire that out and then use the extra time to start flipping. To throw all your eggs into the flipping basket without doing a deal to me is not wise. Do a few then decide about going all in. 

Thank you for your reply! It is sellable and we have had an assessment with a broker. We are just debating to follow through or not!

We did try hiring out the manager in the past for 2 years - but my husband didn't manage that person well, so they didn't manage the employees well, and we ended up losing money. Employee management is not a strength of my husband (and he happily admits it!). 

 Well that's good. I would still push through and do a few deals before selling. You might hate flipping over running a GC business but I would not kill your income source. 

I'm 💯 with Caleb on this: Test out your flipping plan before you sell your business!

Has your business broker explained that the majority of businesses put on the market do not sell?

And, even if you do find a seller, you're looking at a minimum of 6-12 months of due diligence and financial review.

Plus, the new owner is likely going to want you both to stay on for a least a little while after the sale!

The time to find out if flipping is a viable pivot is now, while you still have income!

Thank you so much! It's helpful to hear the perspective outside the broker. For a company our size, we were told more like 1-2 months of due diligence and 1 month of staying on, but we have nothing to truly compare that to in the "real world".  I appreciate your input - very helpful! 

Quote from @Denis Ponder:

Agree with others, don't sell until you have done a few and determine if you like it. I would recommend just doing BRRRR projects to build the portfolio now, while you are still running the business. You will know that the remodels are done well/properly, so you can hire out the PM piece and move forward. Plus, you can likely get better margins, or run on thinner margins to acquire a property in a very desirable area since you are doing much of the work in house. You could have a really solid portfolio in a relatively short period of time.

How are W2 employees different than subs?  Both are people that require communication and accountability.

 Thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate it. Having many people agreeing is also very helpful.

Subs do require accountability yes - it's not quite that piece that is the struggle. They're paid by the job and if their performance ever decreases (which can happen - they're great for a time and eventually for whatever reason their quality, timeliness, etc declines) then it's easier to phase them out & replace them with a different crew. 

When it comes to W2 employees, it involves HR, expectations, paying them whether they have enough leads or projects to fill their day or not, managing higher expectations (W2 employees seem to be much more "picky"), and overall they are just more expensive. If their performance drops, it requires much documentation, performance reviews, fix it plans, etc. etc. because if we fire them without heavy documentation, now we pay unemployment. They need a lot more training & accountability on systems and processes vs. the subs coming in just to do their trade they are highly skilled in. And they're much harder to hire vs. subs (my husband is very good at building his sub network - it comes very naturally to him). It's a very different relationship overall and more "gray" with W2 than "black and white" with subs. Working with W2 employees was always my skillset, but it's not something I can do anymore with our kiddos.