I got a call from a competitor friend of mine about a deal he just landed. It’s always tough to work a deal from a competitor, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where it comes from. All that matters are if the numbers work, and they certainly did in this deal. So I jumped on it. It looked like it would be a challenge, one I haven’t had in quite some time.

It was a 3/2, 1329 sf brick home, built in the 1960s. I typically never touch these older homes, but- it was less than 1/2 mile from Arizona State University, and the Fall Semester would be starting within a few months. I knew I had to capture the market for college kids, staff, or parents who would be purchasing this home. I figured most likely it would be parents buying it for their kids while in school, an investor looking to rent it out to college students, or young professionals who work in the area. It was about 1 mile from the freeway, and central to activities/restaurants, banks, etc. This thing had some potential to sell quickly, for a fair price. I had comparables in the area in the $250-270k range, depending on the upgrades in the home. I was shooting for $270k, yes, even in THIS market.

The house definitely had some problems. The roof was trashed, yard dead, single pane windows, broken doors, etc. The worse part was the family who had lived there for 13 years raised Chihuahuas. Yes, 13 of them, living in the home. It was THE MOST disgusting house I had seen out of the 200+ deals I’ve done. We found dog feces up underneath the kitchen cabinets (yes, under the base of the cabients- how the dogs got in there, WHO KNOWS!). The plumbing was backed up in certain areas, and this place was a dump. The biggest problem was that they had laid 4" Spanish tile throughout the entire house. Kitchen, bedrooms, closets- they even used it for baseboards! Oh, and the pop-corn ceilings. YUCK! The neighborhood wasn’t the best either- with vagrants floating through every couple of hours. This house backed right up to the back of a commercial strip mall too- with some fast food joints in there. The smell was horrendous from that alley! But, in this game, you have to see potential.

The home was a brick structure, and those last forever. I knew my most potential buyers would be younger kids, so I went completely modern with the design. I’ve never done that before, so it was a big risk for me. I’m talking hardwood floors, Ikea Kitchen Cabinets (which were SOO COOL btw!), granite counter tops, contemporary light fixtures and ceiling fans, the works. We replaced the flat doors with upgraded 6-panel doors, installed dual-pane low-e windows, painted a nice 2-tone look inside and out. Most materials were purchased from Ikea, which REALLY saved a ton of money.

I found some bathroom vanities and faucets on Ebay. Yes, Ebay. After searching all over the valley, Ebay had the cheapest price for this style, coming in at about $500/ea including shipping. They were a pain to put together and install- but well worth it! I threw in some stainless steel appliances, and gave away a free refrigerator with the purchase. When it was all said and done, this thing was SHARP. I mean, it was really awesome.

There were a TON of problems and headaches along the way, I won’t lie. Had to fire 3 set of dirtbag contractors (7 years, never had to fire 1!), which were the bulk of the problems. We took 3 large, 40-yard dumpsters of trash and debris out of that house. But, in the grand scheme of things, it was worth the hassle.

I believe the entire project took just over a month to complete. After about 2 hours of being listed on MLS, we had a Realtor showing his clients the property. 20 minutes later, he’s faxing me an offer. We negotiated the offer back and forth for 3 days, finally settling in on the price and terms. We closed 3 weeks later for a nice profit. In my next post, I’ll go over the numbers- costs & profits. I wish I had taken more before pictures- but I was in too much of a hurry to get out of that mess to even think about it! But, you’ll see the overall style I put into this property in the after pictures.

Now, I wouldn’t do this style in Gilbert or Chandler, per se- but it worked great in Tempe. The buyer’s loved it. They were a young couple who were looking to get married. They had been touring condos with the same style listed in Phoenix for $500k. They later told me that they’d rather pay in the $200ks for the same style of home, have a nice yard, no HOA and neighbors sharing a wall then to buy a $500k condo. They were thrilled with the purchase. Did I luck out? I don’t think so. I offered the most home in the area, for the best price. I gave more amenities than any other home could offer. Basically, I made the deal a no-brainer to would-be buyers. I even offered assistance with closing costs. This is what it takes to flip houses here in Arizona. It’s definitely possible if you’re smart about it. Check out the pictures…

 

Front Before

 

 

 

 

Front After

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen 1

 

 

 

 

Kitchen 2

 

 

 

 

Kitchen 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living Room

 

 

 

Master Bath

 

 

 

 

 

 

Master Bath

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hall Bath

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hall Bath

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hall Bath Faucet

 

 

 

 

Master Shower

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hall Bath Vanity

 

 

 

 

 

Master Bath Vanity