Fix & Flip Going Sideways... Advice Needed! 🙏

[Chris Shon]

Hey BP community

My business partner and I are in the middle of a tough situation on a remote flip project in Decatur, GA (zip 30032), and we’re looking for advice from seasoned investors who’ve been through similar. We’re based in Los Angeles and open to creative or unconventional strategies as long as they help preserve capital or minimize losses.

We’d strongly prefer to exit with at least a break-even outcome, or pivot to a hold strategy that preserves the capital and gives us another shot at resale in 2026 when market conditions might improve.

Property Overview

• Address: 2326 Mark Trail, Decatur, GA 30032
  Purchase Price: $198,000 (Sept 2024)
  Financing: $248,900 Hard Money Loan (HML) — extended until Sept 23, 2025
  Monthly Holding Costs: $2,800
  All-in Costs (w/ agent fees, holding, rehab, staging, overages): $354,174

Originally a 3 bed / 1 bath with a bonus room. The plan was to convert it to a fully permitted 4 bed / 2 bath with a back patio and flip it by Feb 2025. Rehab delays and permitting issues pushed us into June 2025, and reno is only ~75% complete.

Renovation Status

• - Permits for the addition are just getting finalized. But contractor hasn't made any progress in over 4 weeks.
  - Floor joists for the addition are exposed in the back
  - Second bathroom and closet still need to be built
  - Back patio and landscaping still pending
  - Last draw from HML will fund completion (already built into cost basis)

ARV & Comps

We originally comped the flip at $375,000+. Now, based on recent comps and our contractor’s finish quality, we’re realistically looking at $325K–$345K on the open market.

Recent Comps:

- 4/2s in similar finish: $299, $320K, $340K, $355K
- 3/1s: $220K–$270K

Options We’re Weighing

Option	Net Result	Notes
1. Sell As-Is (3/1)	~ -$73K loss	Fire sale — not viable
2. Refi + Long-Term Rent (LTR)	~ -$46K loss	Rents ~$2,200/mo, negative cash flow
3. Refi + STR or MTR	Hold + slight cashflow (Keep ~46K in the deal)	- ~$300/mo with STR, goal to sell in 12-18 months. - $12,000+ additional capital required to furnish. - Self Managing will be tough being remote. - Property Management costs would null out cashflow.
4. Finish & Sell as 4/2 at $335K	~ $27K loss (Break even at $355K)	- $360K is unlikely now based on finish level.

What We’re Looking For

• Has anyone been in a similar position?  What would you do in this situation?
• Are we missing creative strategies that might open up other opportunities?
• Would you STR this property or MTR it and ride it out?
• Would you finish the flip and price aggressively to just get it gone?

Appreciate any advice, thoughts or critiques. We want to learn and make the best possible decision at this point. Feeling very defeated from this being our first investment. We really thought we had a good deal with a lot of cushion, but we made bad choices and gave our contractor too much time and trust.

Thanks in advance 🙏

[Chris Seveney]

I won't tell you what to do but - What I have seen in many of these situations is people have rose colored glasses on what it costs to complete and the time it takes and would have been better off selling immediately over continuing the bleeding. 
if I knew what my losses were I would accept them vs trying to fight through too many unknowns especially managing from afar