All Forum Posts by: Sarah DeMamiel

@Alan Asriants, my wife, who is a designer, and her other design focused friends, refer to these as "Dude Flips".  Some "dude" just saw that other grey walls, white shaker cabinets, and a white-washed style LVP sold down the street and so that is the easiest way to make a buck.  

And it can work, but like you noted, if you are trying to create a commodity house, then fine.  To me, it is the same as the subdivision builders where you have the same house, over and over and over again. Nothing special, nothing unique, but in many cases, they sell.

At the end of the day, it is a different mentality. Creating something unique and special takes more time and energy.  It takes creativity.  And, in all reality it can be viewed as a risk, since it is not the "safe" option.  But, for the flips my wife and I have done, every single property she has ever sold has gone into bidding wars and sold for 10's of thousands more than the generic flips in the area.  But, creating these unique properties is what she loves to do, and she has a natural eye for design.  

To many investors, the goal is highest margin for least amount of effort.  And, if that is the goal, then you will continue to the same general finishes and paint colors in most flips.

You shouldn't do either of those with your mother's money unless you have the experience in real estate investing. Both of those models involve potentially comprehensive rehab to make a good return and new investors often hire the wrong people and spend way too much.

Higher returns on her money can be found in debt fund syndications which are totally passive and can pay 12%. If it's your mom's next egg, you don't want to take risk that is not fully educated.

Seems like it needs to be determined what’s most important to her. Is it her enjoyment as a priority or is she primarily looking out for the family? If it’s primarily her, flip for immediate cash. However, brrrr, especially in stable areas can be consistent over the long term and for generations to come. Can you do two rental properties with the 400,000 in your market? If you can do two properties, that would be quite the consistent income stream PLUS building equity. If she’s like most grandmothers/mothers, she’d likely opt for the second one that benefits her a little in the meantime but her family greatly in the long run