Our First Flip House

Like so many others out there, we had this dream of purchasing a property, fixing it up, and then selling it for a profit. I don’t know if it was Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, that originally planted this seed or maybe it was all those impressive episodes of Fixer Upper. Similar to Chip & Joanna, my husband and I worked together (in what I call a previous life because it seems so long ago) when we owned a cabinet company. We would constantly talk about our shared dream of flipping houses. We actually talked about it so much, we’d often wonder if it was just a fun way to pass the time or if it would actually come to fruition? Were we just dreamers? How would we even get started?

We started researching the home buying business by watching YouTube videos which eventually led us to subscribing to BiggerPockets blogs and reaching out to experts in the field. Although it seemed we were starting to understand the process and practices, we were still too nervous to purchase our first property. I realize now that it was the fear of failure that was holding us back from following our dream. As a wannabe real estate investor, you can do unlimited research; however, it doesn’t mean anything if you’re unwilling to take that first step. I kept going back to one of my husband’s favorite quotes. Did I mention he was a history major?

“The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.”

Carl von Clausewitz

Nothing is perfect. We all know this. You can analyze the numbers a million different ways but in the end, you have to act. I’m not saying that you just jump in without doing any prior planning; I’m just saying that once you’ve done your due diligence, the only thing left to do is to stop being afraid and to GO FOR IT!

This bring us to the subject property in Dunn, NC. You can see the lovely *before* pictures below.

We had the opportunity to purchase this property from a local real estate investor at a good price. Not great, but good enough in the grand scheme of things. We had previously been working with a friend, and now business partner, doing small remodels and general construction projects. We had experience working with homeowners, vendors, subcontractors, and inspectors. As far as we were concerned, rehabbing houses was our next logical step with our business. I mean we were contractors, right?! Obviously this made us more qualified than everyone else out there flipping houses. Putting together a budget? Piece of cake! We buy materials cheaper than everyone else. Extremely high labor costs? No worries here either since we have our own handymen on staff to assist with the renovation projects.

Needless to say, we came in entirely too confident and blew through our budget within the first month when doing the demolition. We removed walls, reframed rooms, and replaced ALL the existing plumbing and electrical throughout the house. The project came to a screeching halt while we were still in the framing stage. I couldn’t believe it! It seemed like our dream was going to end before we even got started.

After some tough conversations, a few large slices of humble pie, and a month or two lost on the project, we were able to get a small loan in order to finish out the renovations. One of many hard lessons learned. We revisited our budget and came up with a realistic plan for going forward. There was a lot of sacrifices made. You would be surprised how quickly all the little expenses will add up.

It took us seven months from the day we closed on the house to the day we listed it on the market. Luckily, we were able to sell it that first weekend. I’d like to say the house sold so quickly because of everything we put into it. Although that may be partly true, we had some factors working to our advantage. Low housing inventory and a red hot market ultimately saved us from losing our asses! To be completely transparent, we didn’t make any money but it could have been much worse. We learned some valuable lessons and survived to share it!

The Dunn Flip property was an adventure to say the least. From being too afraid in the beginning to being overly confident during the process, we felt all the emotions during this flip. It was a blessing for us in so many ways but the biggest take-away was that it confirmed that this is what we want to do and we love doing it!

Check out the finished photos below. You can also see the side-by-side before & after photos here.