My First Flip (with Pics!)- Small $$ Profit - Big Exp. Profit

My First Flip (with Pics!)- Small $$ Profit - Big Exp. Profit

Real Estate Investor · Wakefield, MA · Member since 2014 · 54 posts · 34 votes

Hi All -

My first flip closed yesterday, mostly cosmetic, and I wanted to share my experience with you guys. This was done in Massachusetts. I'll try to make it concise but it may get a bit lengthy!! I pretty much broke even with this deal and I want to share where I messed up and will be sure to catch next time around! Let's get started! The numbers first:

Purchase Price: $430,000 (Auction) (3 Normal Bed, 1 Master, 2 Full Baths, 1 Master Bath, Pool, Cathedral Living Room Ceiling, Attached 2 car Garage, Swimming Pool, 3500sqft on 1 acre)

Outstanding Town Liens: $94,000 (I knew this as this was announced at auction. I thought it was a mistake. But taxes are about 10-12k per year on this property and the previous homeowner was delinquent for several years)

Cash for Keys: $20,000 (The homeowner agreed to vacate by a certain date to avoid a drawn out legal process, which they threatened to do)

Cleanout: $750 (The place was a complete mess)

Initial Cleaning: $150 (I at least needed to get the place tidied up a bit before painters would come)

Kitchen Repainting / Spraying Makeover: $11,500

Fresh Paint on Most Rooms (Ceiling, Walls, Trims): $12,500

Hardwood Floor (Sand, Stain, Re-finish): $4,500 

New Carpets in all 4 bedrooms: $4,500

Lawn Debris and Hydroseed: $6,000 (and weekly lawncare until sale but that was cheap)

Electrician: $1,000 (Smokes Inspection and fixed a few recessed lights + other minor)

HVAC: $1,000 (Garbage Disposal Replacement, HVAC filter replacement + others

Window Cleaning: $500

Mold Remediation: $1,000 (Bathroom Ceiling)

Carpentry: $5,000 (Bunch of stuff)

Miscellaneous Materials: $2,000

Final Cleaning: $300

Staging: $4,500

New Washer and Dryer: $1,000 

Total: ~$600,200 (+- 2-3k)

Listed Price: 669,000

Sale Price: 644,500 

After broker + legal Proceeds: 606,000

Profit: ~6k 

Time Held: Bought in April, Roughly 6 Months.

I didn't make much from this deal, but the experience I got was awesome. I tried to cheap out on the hardwood floor vendor, so I got a lot of negative comments from buyers and had to wiggle on price. The painting of ceilings was also unnecessary in hindsight, and think I could've gotten away with that. I also did a lot of the above things sequentially, instead of having multiple vendors in the house at the same time. I think I could have gotten away with certain items, especially the landscaping. I did that too late and needed to wait 3 weeks for the sprouting so it would show better.

PICTURES (BEFORE)

AFTER PICS

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Most Popular Reply

Real Estate Broker · Waterford, MI · Member since 2015 · 67 posts · 23 votes
11y

And $20k cash for keys seems excessive!

See this reply in the discussion

80 Replies

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  • Rental Property Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2015 · 272 posts · 50 votes
    11y

    Congrats!! It looks great!!

    Keep up the good work

  • Software Engineer · North New Jersey · Member since 2015 · 56 posts · 25 votes
    11y

    It seems that everyone commenting on how insane 20k cash for keys is insane is not from Massachusetts. My guess is while it may not be common elsewhere it is in your market. Well congrats on the first deal! I think it looks great.

  • Investor · Roanoke, VA · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 374 votes
    11y

    great job @Victor Eng

    Time to do it again

  • New to Real Estate · Castle Rock, CO · Member since 2014 · 172 posts · 66 votes
    11y

    The after photos look amazing.  What were your holding costs?  I'm wondering why you put a washer and dryer in with the property.  Is this common in Massachusetts, or were you trying to help it sell? 

  • Elizabeth, PA · Member since 2015 · 44 posts · 11 votes
    11y
    Congrats on the flip. They say the first one is the hardest. Keep the ball rolling and find one to make a killing on next!
  • Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Just consider that you learned more from this one deal than you likely could have from any guru course and you got paid $6k to do it instead of shelling out tens of thousands. The kitchen looks great.

  • House Flipper · East Stroudsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 205 votes
    11y

    Good job; I'm sure the next one will be more profitable and your approach will be more demanding.  The risk reward factor is a concern but you came out ok;  The next one utilize your experience and now you can start saying this is not my first rodeo.  Good job and good luck with your second deal.

  • Lilburn, GA · Member since 2015 · 1 post · 0 votes
    11y

    Congratulations! Looks good, I am new to this business and haven't done my first flip yet, but I am taking a class in November and look forward to getting into this business. Nice to see such a supportive group of people.

    Warmest Regards,

    Bruce

  • Investor · Goldsboro, NC · Member since 2015 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    11y

    Great job!!! I LOVE THE KITCHEN and the floors are to die for. Awesome work. The experience you gained is three times the value of the profit margin, actually with the end result you obtained, it's actually priceless!!! Did I mention I love the kitchen?!?! Thanks for sharing. (I'm done drooling over that kitchen now.)    :)

  • Real Estate Agent · Nashville, TN · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    11y

    Very nice job. I really like how the kitchen looks. The floor looks good with the white cabinets. Painting the cabinets vs getting new ones was genius. I did the same in my primary residence and it turned out to be great. 

    I really like the floors, I guess I can't really see the streaks from the pictures. 

    Overall, the pictures look amazing.

    Perhaps it was a small profit, but profit is profit!!!

  • Realtor · Florida / Atlanta · Member since 2015 · 210 posts · 53 votes
    11y

    Wow Nice Job.  You must be a aggressive investor because that was a pricey first job. Keep it up I can't wait to see your next job.

  • Queens NY, NY · Member since 2013 · 467 posts · 107 votes
    11y

    Congrats!!!

    Those are numbers are insane, but it depends on the market. You cannot pay for that kind of hands on experience and you made a small profit.

    The place looks amazing!!

  • Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Stephanie Goodman:

    And $20k cash for keys seems excessive!

     A little different but 4 years ago we took one back $40k cash for keys to get them to sign a DILO & walk away.

    BUT they had completely rebuilt the entire 1950's home added 1250 sq ft plus a 3 car coach house with a 36x22 room above it. All the plumbing, wiring, roofing, wall board bathrooms etc were rebuilt. They blew out the old 2.5 car garage & made it into a kitchen with $30K of cabinets & $12K of quart counter tops. What surprised us is they also left all the high end appliances.

    We still own it & have it rented but my wife still claims we paid way too much!!!!

    On the subject of the flip it's a great transformation & the experience usually is the most value you get.

    I recently had fellow investors complain that they spent 3 months working on a rehab only to clear $10k between 3 guys. The appraisal came in too low for the buyers conventional financing but they just wanted to unload it so took the hit.

  • Buffalo, NY · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    11y

    This was a great flip especially it being your first. How many weeks did it take to flip?

  • Investor · grand rapids, MI · Member since 2015 · 28 posts · 3 votes
    11y

    congrats keep up the great work i hope i can do something like that soon !! It turned out great !! 

  • Investor · Hoffman Estates, IL · Member since 2014 · 434 posts · 185 votes
    11y

    That's an amazing flip, especially for your 1st.  Buying at auction is no joke either, I'd steer clear from that until you've got a few under your belt.

    But I give you serious points for pulling it off.

    Way to go!

  • Realtor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 693 posts · 357 votes
    11y

    Those after pics look amazing, hopefully the lessons learned on this one transfer to higher profits on the next

  • Contractor · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2013 · 65 posts · 5 votes
    11y

    Thanks for sharing your experience!  Awesome job and congrats!

  • Dallas, TX · Member since 2015 · 32 posts · 6 votes
    11y

    Congrats on getting a lot of experience and getting paid to learn =P

  • remodeling contractor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 69 posts · 49 votes
    11y

    Wow thanks for the article and place looks amazing.  I am (hopefully) going to starting my first flip in the next couple weeks so I love the fact you talked numbers and gave us photos to go along with your article. I certainly won't be anywhere near your price point but lessons learned often transcend the home value.  So thanks!

    Great job and here's to your future success.

  • Wholesaler · New England · Member since 2015 · 40 posts · 21 votes
    11y

    Now get your real estate license and next time  list it, you'll pay yourself back some commission !

  • Alameda, CA · Member since 2015 · 69 posts · 16 votes
    11y

    Love the interior color. What brand and color of paint was it?  Floor staining came out nice too!  

  • Investor · Redondo Beach, CA · Member since 2015 · 43 posts · 14 votes
    11y

    Congratulations on finishing your first flip, gaining a huge amount of education, and having some profit. 

    Have you started on your next one?

  • Investor · Bothell, WA · Member since 2015 · 214 posts · 104 votes
    11y

    Thanks for sharing! It's about the same price range for homes in my area. Unfortunately, it makes flipping a lot riskier.

  • Richmond, TX · Member since 2015 · 24 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    Congratulations Victor!! Keep up the hard work. The pictures in your transformation look fantastic. Looking forward to hearing about you next Real Estate deal.

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