Flip or Flop?

#EntrepreneurOfTheWeek – Post #3

Flip or Flop? 🏚️➡️🏡

I really love flips.

Yes—they’re risky, unpredictable, and don’t always go according to plan…
but I still love them much more than rentals (even though I do both).

The story of our “almost flop”

Our first flip went perfectly—by the book.
That gave us the confidence to jump straight into the second one.

Actually… we found two deals around the same time.
So we decided to go all in—and do both.
With the same contractor.

That’s when things started going wrong.

The contractor problem

In the first flip, he was great:

• Finished in 3 months

• Stayed on budget

• Weekly updates with photos and videos

But in the second flip… something broke.

He didn’t disappear—
he just kept dragging us along.

Another month… and another…

There was always a reason:

• He’s sick

• Issues with workers

• Family emergency

Sound familiar?

And us?

We were still relatively new,
without the experience (or confidence yet) to push back hard enough.

So we waited.
Asked. Got frustrated.
But still… waited.

Until eventually—we fired him.

At that point:
9 months had passed—and the house still wasn’t finished.

What saved us

1. More brains than luck 🧠

We never paid him ahead of progress.

Only after work was completed.

Later, we heard he had scammed other investors.

Since then, rule #1:
👉 Contractor payments = strictly by progress, broken into as many stages as possible.

2. More luck than brains 🍀

During those 9 months—the market kept rising.

So even though renovation costs increased,
we sold at a much higher price than originally expected.

But let’s be honest—
markets can go the other way too.

Our “House Rules” for flips

✔️ No tenant-occupied properties for flips
(Even month-to-month can delay timelines and kill your ARV)

✔️ Focus on cosmetic flips only
Sometimes thinner margins—but faster and safer

• Always can convert to a rental if needed

✔️ Work with lenders—not partners
Avoid external pressure that affects decision-making

✔️ Contractor selection is critical
Payments in stages—never upfront

The numbers 📊

Initial plan:
Purchase: $88,000
Renovation: $35,000
Expected sale: $150,000–$160,000

Actual result:
Purchase: $88,000
Renovation: $40,000
Sale: $200,000

Listed at $178,900 → Sold over asking

Everything we know today—we learned the hard way.

And I’m sure there are investors out there succeeding with completely different rules and strategies.

Tomorrow, I’ll share our full journey:

From flips → rentals → new construction
What worked, what didn’t,
and what we’re still learning today.

See you tomorrow 🙂