Empowering Women in Real Estate, Preserving Small Footprint Houses, and adding more Affordable Housing to the Market
I’m excited to have completed this project because it checked so many boxes that I’m passionate about.
One big box that it checked for me was adding back small, affordable housing inventory to a market that desperately needs it. This property was originally presented to me as a tear down–due to its condition.
Typically, when a house is labeled a tear down, a larger home ends up being built in its place. This becomes problematic when dealing with land, as small builders have to compete with large builders who can generally pay more for land because they turn bigger profits overall. A newly built, larger home pushes this once affordable property to a much higher price point, often beyond affordability for most. So, when I saw this listing, I was inspired to preserve the home and its affordability by remodeling it and eventually adding it back to an affordable income bracket.
The next box this project checked for me was the chance to partner with a new and aspiring female investor. One of my biggest passions is empowering women to thrive in a mostly male-dominated field, so I was especially excited to find a female with the desire and drive to take on large projects and learn about flipping houses. I loved sharing the wisdom and experience I’ve gleaned through my many years of investing.
Finally, this box checked my need for personal growth and learning in a big way. My investment partner and I ended up doing a large amount of work on this house ourselves– everything from siding and windows to framing, insulation, cabinet installation and more.
This house had holes in the roof, foundation rot/issues, lots of patchwork and rigging by former owners, and no functional electric or plumbing in place. We found that multiple materials were used to make the exterior, including logs, bricks, cinder blocks and even beer cans and bowling pins!
To bring this house to current code, we needed all new electric, insulation, plumbing, framing, flooring, drywall, fixtures, cabinets, etc. We also added multiple skylights for more natural light. And, while I do enjoy this sort of work, and I did find it incredibly rewarding to see the fruits of so much time and labor, I’ve learned that the do-it-myself method took too much time away from the other aspects of my business. A great lesson for me.
In the end, the house was sold to a first time home owner who was able to acquire 100% financing from a local credit union that we put her in touch with. She plans to use the home as a short term rental when she is out of town for extended periods of time.