I mentioned in Monday's post that our flip house fell through. A flip house felt (feels?) like the next step right now. Something we could work on to get our creative juices flowing. Feel unattached to. Improve a home on a tight budget, take you along for the ride and then pass it on. We searched for a couple weeks before landing on one that we really loved. We put an offer on a darling little house with lots of large arches and promises of exposes brick behind a few of the plaster walls. It was 100 years old and we agreed on an offer of $135K--a steal for the area. Because of its age and condition, we were anticipating a few problems to show up in the inspection but unfortunately it came back with more issues than we felt we could mentally take on right now--the crumbling stacked stone foundation ultimately lead us to withdraw our offer.
We got asked a lot, what we look for in a flip house and I think that will be different for everyone and definitely for every level of experience. Since this was our first and we were using it as a kind of pick-me-up project after a big loss, here's our to-look for list:
• Location, location, location! We're always on the hunt for a sad house in the midst of cared-for homes, a nice street, or homes that have a higher price tag. We also were looking for a home within 20-25 minutes of our home so we could work on it during the day easily.
• We also checked on the big ticket items--when was the roof installed? water heater? furnace? foundation? Is the electrical all still knob and tube? These things are manageable and doable (not by us) but will take time and money. We were fine with a home having one or two of these issues but any more than that could add up to less or no profit when you turn around to resell.
• Character. We really wanted to improve a home that was clearly a diamond in its day and restore some of that beauty.
• We were really looking for a house that we could tackle the majority of projects ourselves. DIY is a sort of therapy for us right now and we were looking forward to diving in and solving spacing problems creatively and picking out finishes.
• Lastly, equity potential--which basically sums up all of the above. A good ratio of bedrooms to bathrooms, decent comparables in the area and a list of to-dos that wouldn't eat up an entire budget.
In this week's Vlog, we take you behind the scenes of the flip (note: after our inspector finished, he invited us to the house and went through the whole report with him but asked to not be on camera)--also, HAPPY ENDING-- a sneak peek into a project that fell into our laps that we're pretty excited about.
Leave a Reply
WE'RE CHRIS + JULIA
Portfolio
Projects
A crumbling foundation is a great reason to run away from a house. And what lucky friends, to have you two "take over" their kitchen reno. A win-win situation for sure. :)
Gosh. You guys are are super cute! I haven’t read a blog in years. And yet here I am on your page sucked away from IG for a moment to read and watch :) Makes me happy to see all these people happy.
Boooo crummy flip foundation! Yayyyyy new Fulmer kitchen!!
Sounds like fun! I know they had pretty firm design ideas already. Are you going to implement what they had decided or are you going to mix in your style too?
I've been helping pretty much since they started, but working from their inspiration photos for finishes so it's a happy marriage
Well, that’s why you hired an inspector! It’s all good. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with your friends’ kitchen. Keep doing what you do!
Sorry about your flip falling through :/ but Yayyyyy! How exciting to help your friends out on their kitchen! Can't wait to follow along and see what you guys do :-D
I love watching you help your friends!! I get pulled in on all family and friend projects and often just want to take over. Plus Im excited to see you guys do another kitchen!
How fun...sounds like a good next step. Nothing but respect for the ways you are turning your loss into blessing for others. May you be filled up as you pour out.
What a beautiful way to get moving again! Bittersweet, but we never know what’s around the corner and why. Can’t wait to see what you do????
Not too sad you're not buying the money pit but thrilled we'll finally get to see your cabinet doors in a new kitchen (I hope!). Best of both worlds. We get to see you design and re-do a kitchen for friends and your friends get a lot of help on a brand new kitchen!
Have fun in Hawaii!
YAY! Sad about the flip, but so excited to see y'all do a kitchen again, and the fact that it blesses your friends is even better.
That is fun you get to do their kitchen. I am curious what pranks they will do at your house when you are working on their kitchen.