Our First Flip (& flop) Silver Lining

Today marks the end of a LONG journey. 3908 Greenmount Ave, our first flip has officially SOLD and we have closed out the LLC we opened with our friend Will for partnering on investment projects. ??

This was a very unique project for many different reasons. We had tens of thousands of additional expenses involved once we found out we had to swap out the asphalt roof and vinyl windows with a slate roof and wood windows because of the Guilford Community association violations that the previous owner never told us about. We had over 6 months of delays waiting for the slate roof and wood windows. ???♀? We had water damage to our WATERPROOFED basement from landscaping issues and a neighboring property leak that caused additional delays and expenses. ?? We had a pipe burst ONE day before cleaning and pictures (luckily Chris was at the property when it happened... what are the chances of that?!?!). ?? And since Chris went back to work and school full time, and our partner passed away 6 months before the house went on the market, I had to jump in as project manager to complete the renovation with ZERO experience or preparation. ???♀?

I am a big believer in a silver lining, making lemonade out of lemons, and looking at life with a positive outlook (when I can). And there were a few silver linings and lessons learned on this one that I want to share with you.

1?? House flipping is NOT what you see on TV. Managing different contractors can be tough (we were lucky to have great general contractors that minimized a lot of the hassle). Fixing homes can be EXPENSIVE. Everything takes time... and then more TIME! Sometimes you take a time and financial loss.

2?? There is a RIGHT way to do things and a WRONG way. It is as simple as that. And as an agent (and someone with a conscience) I have even more responsibility to do things the RIGHT way, which sometimes means even more time and money.

3?? Behind every tough, expensive, and tear jerking experience there IS a lesson to be learned.

This was one of the toughest and most expensive learning experiences of my life. I learned a ton about home remodeling, vacant home issues, project management, strict community associations, LLC law, and the saying “shit happens.”

Standing here looking back on it all Christopher Neal and I are stronger for it and I know Will Mitchell would be proud of us. ??

Moral of this long Facebook post and story?

Be a good human. Fail forward. Never stop trying, and always look for that silver lining. ??

I am feeling so much lighter today, very relieved and grateful to close the book on this one. Happy Monday y’all! ??

Thank you so much Rhyan Gamet, Charlie, and the whole R&G Remodeling Team... I don’t know what we would have done without you! Thank you to our lender Jon Kramer for hanging in there with us, and to our attorneys Brad Fowler and Charles Kassouf. Thank you Becky Emma for staging and James Harper for the photos and video helping us see that this property actually is beautiful (when something is so hard sometimes you can lose sight of the beauty). ??