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Posted almost 7 years ago

First Flip= $45000 Check at Closing!!!

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Hello guys and girls! I'm back :-). It has been over 2 years since I did a blog post and oh how I have missed you:'-). A lot has happened in my life! A lot of beautiful, wonderful things have occurred. Since my debut blog post, I have become a full-time realtor with the best broker in the world and I have completed and profited from 3 flips as well. It is truly a blessing to be on this journey and I am glad real estate has been my vehicle.

But enough about me; I know why you are here! You want to know how did I make over $45,000 on my first flip!! Before we jump right into it lets get some basic housing keeping and thought process stuff out of the way:

  • 1.Results are not typical. Believe me, if I could get a deal like this again I would and who knows I might, however don’t go into this thinking that every deal will turn out this way.
  • 2.Results may vary. Don’t use this story to measure your journey by. Use it as motivation.
  • 3.It’s enough out there for us all. Just because you are new to this thing called investing or feel like other investors may get to the deal before you, don’t get discouraged instead get educated. When you educate yourself with the right tools you can create win-win situations all around you.

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My story.

October 2014, my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease. Needless to say, it felt like my world would end. My mother is my rock. Literally, without her, my daughter, and my fiancé I would be spinning out of control. They ground me. I asked God to show me a way to provide for my family and have the freedom to be with them whenever I wanted to; in walked real estate.

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Real Estate and Me

I immersed myself in EVERYTHING real estate!!! E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!! I read everything on Bigger pockets, listened to podcast, read The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, the One Minute Millionaire, cyber stalked Neva Williamson, Wendy Patton, and Ben Kinney. I also joined local real estate investment groups and just listened. At first everything sounded like a foreign language to me, but slowly I begin to get it.

I learned how to analyze deals and what to look out for in a deal. I did my first wholesale deal and I was hooked! My mantra became, “Find the worst home in the best neighborhood.”

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The Haunted House on the Block

During this time, my mom got sick and had to be hospitalized for two weeks. I needed to do something fast because I was still working a full-time job and traveling a lot. I didn’t want my mom to leave this Earth without seeing a life outside of poverty. I also didn’t want my fiancé to have work so hard to pay off his debt which included two credit cards and a truck note.

I was in tears praying that God show me a sign of what to do and before I knew it I was in front of the haunted house of our neighborhood. The house had been abandon for over 5 years. Most of the windows had been busted out and the roof was about to cave in. The people who left the house left everything including the food (yuck)! Black mold was growing everywhere!! Where others saw disaster, I saw opportunity.

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Footwork….

I found who owned the haunted house and I went to his house with my then 3-year-old daughter. He was already outside his home looking frantic because he had lost his 3-year-old daughter! With my daughter on my hip I helped him find his daughter hiding under a couch under the carport. After everyone’s heart stopped racing he thanked me and asked why I was there. I told him I wanted to by the abandoned house in the neighborhood. He said he acquired it through delinquent tax sale and thought of the house as a “crack house” and agreed to sale it to me for what he paid in taxes which was $4000.

I gladly gave him $4000 and we did a quit claim deed for his tax interest in the property and my lawyer said I would still have to find the owners. I found the previous owners of the home. I explained to them I wanted the house they abandoned and to do that I needed to get them to sign their rights over to me. I told them I did not want to sue them for the right to own the property and I would gladly give them $500 for them to sign a quit claim deed. They signed because they didn’t want the house anyway. My lawyer recorded everything and I was now the new proud owner of the haunted house.

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Money Pit or Ultimate Flip

At first my fiancé thought I was crazy, but he still believed in me. I found someone who agreed to do the whole house for $10000 except for the roof which was $5200 and the foundation which was $6100. All the materials would cost no more than $3500 the contractor said. The contractor also told me it would take him 12 weeks to finish the whole home!! I was like ‘yes jackpot!’

Instead of it taking 12 weeks it took him about 8 months!!! He completed about 90% of the job before he stopped showing up. During that time, my dreams of HGTV flipping got real. My fiancé and I were using our own money at first, but things started to get tight so we went to the bank. As luck would have it we developed a magical thing called equity in the property. We owned it outright and fixed it up to a certain point so the bank had it appraised and gave us 75% loan to value (LTV) to complete the project which equated to about $33,000.

We paid my fiancé’s credit cards off that we used for materials. Completed the house with a new contractor and I could list the house because by that time I became a real estate agent.

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Home for a Friend

James* my fiancé’s friend needed a place to stay. He saw us fixing up the house and asked could he buy it. His credit was not where it needed to be at the time. I worked with James for 9 months (while the house was being completed) to get his credit straight so he could buy the home. My fiancé and I knew James’ story and we were glad we could help him get a home of his own. We were able to create a win-win-win situation for us all.

The Numbers

We purchased the home for $4500

Lawyers fees $250

Recoup $13,000 (what we paid out of pocket)

Bank Loan $29,000 balance

Holding Cost $ 5600 (utilities, insurance, loan payment)

Closing Cost $4411

Total $56,761

Sold the house $80000

Commission $4800

Total $84800

Difference $28,039

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Glamour and Truth

The checks we got at the closing table looked like a little over $45000, but we made a $28,000 profit. Still no bad for our first flip. I couldn’t sail my mom around the world or payoff all my fiancé’s debt (yet), but the profits did help start up our invest company, Diamonds & Wood Real Estate Investing, LLC (named after one of the songs from our favorite rap group UGK) and get our foot in the door.

We have since done two more flips and looking for our next. We are still learning every day and we are in a better position today than before. We thank God for this opportunity. Flipping is not HGTV easy, but it is damn-well worth the ride.

*James is a false name to protect the identity of a friend.

** I left out parts of the story that involved people hating, because it’s really a waste of time to try to explain why certain people hate. I will say don’t let that get you down and keeping pushing through. Making them a foot note in your story too 😊. 


Comments (4)

  1. That is awesome for your first, inspiring.  I'm originally  from Shreveport -Bossier area


  2. Marian,

    GR8 post thanks so much for sharing.  That was a long break 2 years, lucky for us you came back cause that is one heck of a story not to share.  The question I still have is how is your mom doing these days, I certainly hope better!  I loved the whole story but the one thing that stood out to me was your third bullet point about not getting discouraged but educate which in turn will help you persevere and eventually become successful, GR8 advice, thanks.  Thanks so much for sharing your story and will certainly be looking forward to reading more of your adventures in the months and years to come!  Best of luck to you and here is to wishing you a successful 2017 in your REI ventures!


  3. Great story.  Wish you the best of luck in your future projects!


  4. Aww post! Thanks for sharing your story...