September 15, 2025 • 28 mins
What happens when a busy working mom of three decides to pursue her longtime passion for transforming homes? Ee's remarkable journey from complete beginner to successful house flipper proves that with determination, community support, and the right mindset, anyone can make their real estate dreams a reality.
After joining the Flip Sisters community on what she jokingly called a potentially foolish April 1st, Ee faced months of rejected offers in her expensive Portland market. Rather than give up, she pivoted – expanding her search to Cincinnati, Ohio where she secured her first deal within just one month. Managing a flip remotely might sound intimidating, but Ee built a reliable team on the ground, creating a partnership based on trust and communication that allowed her to successfully navigate the entire process from thousands of miles away.
Despite encountering unexpected challenges during the buyer's inspection, Ee maintained her composure and problem-solving approach. She purchased the property for $93,000, completed renovations just under her $57,000 budget, and sold it for $200,000 – walking away with a $20,000 profit on her very first flip. Even more fulfilling was knowing she'd provided a growing family with their perfect home, aligning perfectly with her deeper motivation for entering real estate.
Ee's story resonates because it's honest about both the obstacles and triumphs of house flipping. She openly shares her moments of fear and self-doubt, revealing how self-talk, community support, and focusing on her "why" helped her develop the resilience needed to succeed. For anyone wondering if they have what it takes to flip houses while balancing other responsibilities, Ee's journey offers a resounding yes – you absolutely can.
Ready to write your own success story? Schedule a call with us today at theflipsisters.com and discover how our guidance, coaching, and supportive community can help you take that first confident step toward financial freedom through real estate investing.
GOODIES
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to the Flip Houses Like a Girl
podcast, where we educate,empower and celebrate everyday
women who are facing their fears, juggling family and business,
embracing their awesomeness andwholeheartedly chasing their
dream of flipping houses.
Each episode delivershonest-to-goodness tools, tips
(00:21):
and strategies you can implementtoday to get closer to your
first or next successful houseflip.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome back to Flip Houses.
Like a Girl, I'm Sis Donnelly,real estate investor coach and
proud Flip sister for nearly sixyears now.
You are going to love today'sconversation because if you've
ever wondered what happens whensomeone truly trusts the process
and follows the steps, thisepisode is your answer.
(00:54):
Our guest, e, is a textbookexample of what's possible when
you show up, do the work andlean into the Flip Sisters
framework.
She stuck to the plan, kept hermindset strong, came out on the
other side with a solid $20,000profit on her very first flip.
Her journey is inspiring,encouraging and proof that you
(01:19):
don't need to have it allfigured out.
You just need to start andtrust yourself along the way.
Stick around through to the endto see how E navigated the ups
and downs, what she learned andhow our community helped her
stay focused and confident everystep of the way.
Let's jump in.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Well, my name is Yi Chong and I am from Portland,
oregon.
I have three sons, ages 17, 9,and 1 is turning 5 today.
Oh wow, I also work full-timeas a recruiter for a power
(02:03):
company, and my life is alwayslike on the go.
There's never really a downtime.
My husband works full-time too,so we're just both tag-teaming
each other all the time, andthat's my life here in Portland.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah, so you're a busy mom working a full-time job
.
Yes, okay.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yep, and started this side business almost, maybe a
little over a year ago.
Yeah, okay, yep, and startedthis side business almost maybe
a little over a year ago.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, so you were just telling me about that, tell
, let's tell our listeners aboutthat again.
You joined on April 1st and youfelt like it was an April
Fool's.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yes.
So I've always loved homes.
I've always want to turnsomething broken into something
that is, you know, still a gooduse to someone, or maybe a
community, and so and I lovejust watching making homes
better than they are.
So this was like several yearsago.
(02:55):
I just never got around to itbecause of life, kids and work.
And so when I came across theFlip Sister program, I looked
into it a little bit more and Ilove that it's a woman community
and that I love that there'swomen in the community that's
never done this before and theyjust jump in with both feet and
(03:16):
they go and the support thatthey give each other.
And so I decided to sign up andhave a conversation, and it
turned out to be something thatI think that I really can be a
part of, that I see myselfthriving in, and so that all
happened.
And the day that I signed upwas on April 1st, on April's
(03:37):
Fools, and so I was thinking tomyself am I fooling myself?
But that day is importantbecause it is truly the turning
point of me doing what I love todo and what my true passion is
for so long.
So that is a big day for me.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Yeah, yeah, that's so cool.
I love that.
I love that you can take that.
Am I fooling myself?
Is this really real?
And now you've turned it to,that was the turning point for
me.
That was when it made this allreal.
My dream is starting to cometrue.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yep, yep, for sure.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So okay, so you were paired up with Coach Blair for
your one-on-one calls and youwent through the coursework and
all of the things and then youstarted making offers on
properties.
Went through the coursework andall of the things and then you
started making offers onproperties.
Tell us about the property thatyou flipped that we're here to
hear about today.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
We want to know all the things about it.
Yes, so I started looking atproperties in my hometown and so
everything was just soexpensive in Portland I think a
lot of ladies can relate to thatand the competition is also
pretty, pretty tough.
I was getting outbid a lot andthen offers weren't just
(04:53):
accepted because I was theseller, just wasn't interested
in my offer, but then the number.
I had to make an offer based onthe DA.
Just because I'm so new at this, I don't want to make a big
mistake and then be out of thegame all of a sudden.
So I tried for probably aboutfour or five more months in my
(05:17):
hometown, just kind of keepingmy eyes out in the market what's
out there.
I connected with aninvestor-friendly realtor and
she helped me write the yellowletters as well, and then
getting lists from the countyjust a different list that we
can tap into along with keepingmy eyes on the market, and it
(05:40):
just kind of continued to wheremy offers weren't being accepted
and I just wasn't gettinganywhere.
Like five months went by.
I decided to branch outside ofOregon and I was also part of
just some network of outside ofthe Flip Sister community, more
local, of other people that arelike-minded, and they suggested
(06:05):
that I look in the Midwest.
So they threw out a couple ofstates that I started looking
into.
So Michigan was the first one,detroit, michigan.
It was pretty volatile.
I quickly found that out and mylender actually told me that,
hey, this is your first timeflipping.
If I were you, I probablywouldn't, you know, work in this
(06:26):
area.
It's very, very different andone side of the neighborhood can
be completely different fromthe other and there's.
And so he just gave me a bunchof like advice, which I can
appreciate, because a lender whotakes the time to kind of watch
out for you, if you will, Iappreciate that.
And so a month goes by.
I decided to look into Ohio,which is another recommendation
(06:50):
from the network and the peoplethat made these recommendations
to me.
They have connections that Ican tap into.
So I connected with a realtorin the Cincinnati area and she
was also an investor-friendlyreal estate and helped me put
out offers and within a month Igot an offer accepted.
(07:13):
So I went through a very longjourney to get there, but I
didn't give up.
I knew that I needed to expandmy network.
I knew that I needed to stepoutside of my comfort zone
because, being a first time fixand flip person and trying to do
this remotely, it was reallyscary.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And I love what you said about your lender looking
out for you, right?
So we talk about that all thetime.
Our lender is another teammember.
They are another set of eyes onour deals.
They're there to protect us,too, right?
Yeah, I mean, that's awesomethat you had that relationship
with them and they were able tohelp steer you in a different
direction.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yeah, yes, yeah, and not that I couldn't do it in
Detroit, it was just that, beingthat it was going to be my
first one, probably save thatone for later, is what they were
saying.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Yeah, yeah, great advice.
So this house was on the MLS orit was a wholesale deal or it
was off market, but where was it?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, it was actually on the MLS and it came on my
radar before my realtor showedit to me, so I connected with
her quickly and that's how wegot the deal rolling.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Okay, okay.
So all the things tell us howthe flip went.
Was it smooth, perfect sailing,Was there any hiccups?
What did you experience duringthat?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah.
So once I got under contract Iwas super nervous but then
excited at the same time.
I couldn't believe it washappening.
But I just had to kind of, likeyou know, pull myself together
and go okay, well, you know, nowit's time to really take some
action.
And my realtor, she has a greatdatabase of just people that
she's connected with, likegeneral contractors,
(09:01):
subcontractors that she was ableto, yeah, referrals that she
was able to let me tap into.
So we have a general contractorthat walked the property and
came up with a bid.
And at that point I decided myrealtor was saying, because
she's my eyes and boots on theground, and so she walked the
(09:23):
property and she's like we'regoing to, we're going to be
fixing a lot of things in thehome anyway, and she recommended
, or suggested, I would say, ifI want to waive the inspection.
And so I did.
The GC walked the property andand they were like, yeah, he,
he's pretty used to, you know,know, doing the inspections
(09:44):
piece and and can get a goodrehab budget together for us.
So I went with that option andwe found some things that needed
to be repair that went just alittle over the number that we
thought it would be for rehab,and so we went to the seller and
negotiated the.
(10:05):
The listing price at $100,000and we negotiated down to
$93,000.
And at that point we weren'tsure if the seller was going to
accept it.
But the next day my realtorreached out to me and said that
they accepted it.
So that's when it became real.
And the Boots on the Ground,team man, they are just ready to
hit the ground running.
They.
They started the project andalmost immediately, I want to
(10:29):
say they wanted to start thatsame week, but I had to secure
some fundings for the rehabbudget and so I asked if we can
start the following week.
But that just made me feelreally good about how motivated
the team is.
And I'm not even there to, likeyou know, really keep an eye on
everything at all times, and sojust knowing that I'm working
(10:51):
with a really motivated team, itgives me some comfort, being so
remote to the project.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, yeah, it sounds like you've got a really
fabulous team in place there,and I think that's a big part of
the experience for a lot of usis, you know, having that good
team in place, you know, whenyou've got people that you can
count on and that you feel goodabout and you communicate well
with, it just makes everythinggo a little bit smoother.
Okay, yeah, yes for sure, allright.
So purchase price was $93,000.
(11:19):
What was your renovation budgetto begin with, and timeline and
ARV?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, so $57,000 was our rehab budget and our
timeline.
We were thinking three monthsand then we should be able to
turn that around, turn theproperty around in three months
and put it back on the market.
And then the ARV.
The lender actually came backto us with an ARV of way higher
(11:48):
than we thought, but we werebeing conservative.
We were like, well, we're goingto become conservative, so it
was at 200,000.
That was our conservativenumber, I think.
Our lender came back with 235and we were like that is a huge
gap, but sure.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And that's okay, as long as your purchase price and
your renovation budget and allof those things are based on
that more conservative number,right?
So yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
We always lean towards the conservative side,
uh, just since the beginning ofthe project.
And so, yeah, that was the ARV.
We were able to.
We started the project, westarted the renovation I want to
say early November and the teamjust worked through the
holidays.
I was being mindful of, youknow, family.
(12:33):
I know it's getting towards theend of the year and they want
to be with families, and thenthere's weather conditions that
came into play too, and so I waskeeping all of those in mind
and just checking with the team,like on a weekly or biweekly
basis, and they're pretty goodabout that.
They would send me pictures andvideos or just, you know,
answer quick text messages.
So they were prettycommunicative.
(12:54):
So worked on renovating theproject throughout the whole
November, December and January,Wrapped up in January and then
we went out back out to marketearly February.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Nice, so stayed within your timeline.
How about?
Speaker 3 (13:11):
my timeline.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I think you kind of mentioned earlier budget.
Maybe went just a little over.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
We actually stayed within budget because they were
able to complete the renovationjust under budget a little bit.
But then we had some surprisesduring inspection when we had a
seller interested in theproperty and we're under
contract.
There were some termite repairsthat needed to be done.
There were some foundationissues, but we had a foundation
(13:40):
specialist come out and theypassed it, so it wasn't a huge
deal.
Otherwise I think it would haveadded to my rehab budget.
And the other one was we had toreplace the water heater and
then there were just some othermiscellaneous ones that were
smaller, but those were the twobig ones that stayed with me.
And yeah, even after gettingall of those repaired for the
(14:01):
potential buyer, because we cameunder budget by a little, it
didn't put me over the 57 thatwe originally had planned for.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Yeah, with your buffer and all that in there.
Okay.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Cool, definitely with the buffer.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Nice, sounds like a really well-managed project.
So you had a few surprises withyour repairs, with the
inspection I know you mentionedbecause in our Facebook group,
in our community we always postthose post-deal analysis and in
yours you kind of mentioned thatyou definitely would have
gotten the formal inspection,like when you purchased.
(14:39):
Yeah, do you think that wouldhave saved some of those repairs
on the end?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yeah, do you think that would have saved some of
those repairs on the end.
I think so.
Well, I would have ended upfixing it anyway.
I wouldn't have gone back tothe seller at that time to take
care of.
So I think it would have beenwithin the budget.
I think I would have had ahigher rehab budget.
Knowing those things up front,I think, kind of feeling I felt
(15:07):
like I was kind of well, it wasa surprise and I initially, when
I heard that we had to go backand fix those things, I was my
my head just immediately wentinto like worst case scenario,
like what if it's like $20,000more?
And I did not plan for that andyou know, it just kind of
spiraled from there.
So there was a moment of heartattack there.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that's totally normal.
That's a normal reaction,especially when you haven't done
this before and you're notsuper familiar with like prices
and costs of repairs and thingslike that.
It automatically, especiallywhen you hear things like
foundation and water heater andyou know things like that.
It automatically.
Especially when you hear thingslike foundation and water
heater and things like that, wesort of immediately rush to that
panic state instead of findingout okay, well, how much is it
(15:54):
going to cost before I panic.
I think that's really normal.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I've been really on my team this whole time to just
help me with decisions andprovide options and so my
realtors my realtor.
She became IPM also so she wasreally quick to find people
within her network to get usquotes and we got some good bids
that came in and was able tomake it work with our existing
(16:21):
budget fully and closing justgot delayed by maybe a week, but
it wasn't terrible, not bad.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Not bad.
Okay, so then final sales price.
Did you come in at the $200,000?
Where did you land there?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Yeah, we came in just $205,000.
That was the sold price, butthe $5,000 was really to give
back to the seller to help withtheir closing costs.
Okay, so you came in right atyour $200,000.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yeah, I did so.
You were accurate on your ARVprojections there.
That's awesome.
Yeah, yes, Okay.
So what was your favorite partof the entire flip process?
Speaker 3 (17:09):
My favorite part, I'd have to say, would be
connecting with people like justpeople.
That includes my team, like myrealtor, my GC, all the
subcontractors that werereferred to me to help with the
renovations, and the seller theseller that sold me this first
flip.
They wrote me a letter when weclosed, and it was a heartfelt
(17:32):
letter, saying that this home isreally special to them and that
it's been in their family fordecades and they hope that when
I renovate it and if I plan tolive in it, that they hope I
really enjoy it.
But then if I'm going torenovate it and sell it to
another family, then they hopethat that family would enjoy it
(17:53):
as much as they did.
It held a lot of memories forthem, so that was really special
and that letter is going to bepart of my portfolio for this
flip project for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
It really is amazing.
Homes hold such a importantpart of our lives right and to
have them reach out to you likethat and to have you recognize
that and not just, you know,kind of throw the letter in the
file X, you know, and forgetabout it, to really take that to
(18:24):
heart.
I think that speaks a lot abouthow you do business and how you
care about people in the end,because it's people first, right
, always people first.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Always people, yes.
And then I mean, if you takecare of that, then everything
just kind of comes into place.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Absolutely, I agree.
You put good out into theuniverse and good comes back to
you.
A hundred percent.
Absolutely, I agree.
You put good out into theuniverse.
Good comes back to you 100%.
Did you have any limitingbeliefs or mindset obstacles
before or during the flip?
Like where was your mindset atwhen you were going through the
whole process of getting yourfirst flip and being in your
first flip?
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Yes, the mindset it was definitely scary.
I mentioned that a couple timesalready, yeah, but I think that
because I'm part of thiscommunity and I'm seeing, like,
what other people have gonethrough and then and then, how
they made it through all oftheir obstacles and and then the
end result, it was just reallyinspiring.
(19:21):
So I had to, I have to kind ofrely on those stories that I
read on within the community andthere were times when I had to
reach out to my realtor just tomake sure that she has what she
needs to get the project doneand that if I'm feeling nervous
about it I would tell her andthen she would give me maybe
(19:45):
more information that'shappening on her end that I
might not be privy to to calm mynerves.
So she definitely knows mystyle and you know the types of
questions and worries that Ihave on my end and that's why
it's been such a great you knowrelationship working with her.
You have to just kind of geteach other and know how each
(20:06):
other works and and keep eachother grounded.
So she was definitely a therock throughout my journey, as
well as the Flip Sistercommunity and and then just
having family be a support inthe background as well.
I mean, the LLC is my.
I have an LLC set up for forthis and I'm the only one who's
(20:28):
kind of going through this inthe family, so they would hear a
little bit here and there, butthey're not really going through
the journey with me, so they'rekind of in the background just
being a cheerleader.
So all of that really kept megoing.
But I think the most importantpart is I think the most
important piece is is is me LikeI do a lot of self-talk to
(20:50):
remind myself why I'm doing thisand that this is my passion and
that I'm capable and that I get, I'm bound to run into
challenges, and that's just.
That's just part of the game.
It's it's how you show up whenthose things come up, how you
work through it and how yourespond to those situations is
what matters.
So did a lot of self-talk.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Yes, yes, I cannot cheerlead enough on that point.
So my dad, papa Don, as we callhim, has told me from the time
I was really, really little thatyou can't control other
people's actions and you can'tcontrol the world around you,
but you can control how youreact.
You can control that.
(21:33):
So having that self-awareness,I mean that's such a great skill
it really is.
That's really an amazing skillthat you've got developed there.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, yeah.
So what do you think if youthink back across the entire
flip?
Is there anything that you wishyou would have done differently
?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Yes, I think I would have not used so much of my own
personal fund just because Ifelt like I kind of put myself
and my family in a tight spot.
So, like the gap fundings andit was mostly the gap fundings I
had used my own personalfundings and I wish I would have
(22:18):
hindsight.
I wish I would have maybe askedfor a PML.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah, because you used an HML for the purchase and
the closing costs and the rehaband then used your own private
funds for the gap, thosecarrying costs, utilities
insurance, that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
Yes, Okay, yeah, it was like making two mortgage
payments and paying for twoutility bills every month for
three to four months maybe evenfive months, and so that that
was pretty tight, and I wouldprobably not do that again if I
don't have to.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, yeah, I think, and I think that's a normal like
.
I think we normally, if we havethe funds, jump to funding
ourselves because it feels saferfor some reason, when you know
the reality is we're actuallyoffering opportunities to those
around us to make money, to makea better return than they can
make in the stock market, right?
(23:17):
So, yeah, that's another,another little mindset piece.
I think that all of us kind ofgo through at one point or
another.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Yeah, for sure, yeah, but that's what I would do.
Okay, next time.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, yeah.
So I was looking back at youronboarding questionnaire that we
always ask you for when youfirst join.
I was just going to pull itback up here, but I wanted to
read a couple things off herefor you.
One of the things that you saidwhen you answered the question
(23:51):
what would you like tocontribute to the world?
You said in my current line ofwork, I help people find a
career or next steps, and I'dlike to continue down the path
of helping people, but possiblyin a different capacity, such as
providing them with a wonderfulhome to live in.
A home can provide stability,security, warmth and love.
It would be amazing to be ableto give that to people.
(24:12):
So I want to know do you feellike you've accomplished that?
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Yes, especially within my first flip.
I feel like I definitely didthat, because the buyer that
purchased the flipped home itwas a family who is looking to
grow and it was a small home andit was perfect for, like a
first time home buyer, a smallfamily, and that's exactly who
(24:37):
had purchased the home.
So I'm really excited to havepassed that on to another family
.
Yeah, so I feel like I did justthat's awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
That's amazing.
That's so cool.
I love seeing people come intoour group with no experience and
coming full circle and beingable to reach those goals that
they set down for themselves.
So that's that's an awesomestory, is there?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
anything for reading that, thank you for reading that
.
Thank you for reading that.
I had forgotten about that.
Those questions at thebeginning.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
What do you see for yourself?
Speaker 3 (25:14):
moving forward.
Well, it's on to the next andit's just kind of keeping my
eyes out for deals, makingoffers and continuing, you know,
the partnership with my team.
I know they've reached out tome a couple of times asking when
my next one is going to be, andso I know they're excited to
work with me again, which is itmakes me feel good.
(25:36):
I'm still looking in theCincinnati market, but I'm also
keeping my eyes in the Portlandmarket now, just because I
eventually want to bring it backhome and be closer to the
project and maybe be moreinvolved instead of a remote
investor, if you will.
So that's kind of where my headis right now, but definitely
looking for the next deal andgoing from there.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Great, I love it.
I love it.
You've got such a great storyand thank you so much for being
here today and sharing that withus.
Is there any final thoughtsthat you would like to share
today that you didn't get achance to talk about?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
I don't think so.
You asked really greatquestions.
I just want to say that I trulylove this community and I
wouldn't have I wouldn't be heretoday if I didn't have this
community and the support, and Iwant to encourage other sisters
, flip sisters in the communityto continually share their
questions.
I learned so much from each oneof them that poses questions
(26:35):
out there and the stories thatthey share.
You know challenges and winsall of it.
They all matter and I want thiscommunity to keep growing
because I know that we canthrive together for sure.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
We're definitely better together.
A hundred percent.
I agree with you there.
Well, thanks for being herewith me today.
It was great talking to you.
I love that I actually got tomeet you in person and I'm
really looking forward tohearing more from you in our
community.
So thanks, so much, thank youso much.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Yeah, thanks for inviting me.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Signed, sealed, delivered.
A big, heartfelt thank you toEve for showing up with such
honesty and trust today.
Her willingness to be coachable, to stay open and to fully
embrace the process is exactlywhat makes stories like hers
possible.
She walked into her first flip,leaned into the fear and walked
out with just under $20,000 inprofit.
And the best part, she'salready fired up and looking for
her next deal With Flip Sisters.
(27:36):
You don't have to figure thisout on your own.
Our guidance is second to none.
We've got a team of experienced, passionate, one-on-one coaches
ready to walk beside you,helping you build real
confidence, face those fearshead on and take that leap of
faith.
This community is all aboutsupport, no judgment and
standing strong together as yougo after what you really want,
(27:59):
no matter where you're starting.
So if you're feeling the nudge,don't ignore it.
Schedule a call with us todayat theflipsisterscom to see if
we're a good fit.
Your next chapter might juststart today.
Let's do this together Untilnext time.
Flip Sisters, you've got thisand we've got you.
You're listening to the Flip Houses Like a Girl
podcast, where we educate,empower and celebrate everyday
women who are facing their fears, juggling family and business,
embracing their awesomeness andwholeheartedly chasing their
dream of flipping houses.
Each episode delivershonest-to-goodness tools, tips
(00:21):
and strategies you can implementtoday to get closer to your
first or next successful houseflip.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome back to Flip Houses.
Like a Girl, I'm Sis Donnelly,real estate investor coach and
proud Flip sister for nearly sixyears now.
You are going to love today'sconversation because if you've
ever wondered what happens whensomeone truly trusts the process
and follows the steps, thisepisode is your answer.
(00:54):
Our guest, e, is a textbookexample of what's possible when
you show up, do the work andlean into the Flip Sisters
framework.
She stuck to the plan, kept hermindset strong, came out on the
other side with a solid $20,000profit on her very first flip.
Her journey is inspiring,encouraging and proof that you
(01:19):
don't need to have it allfigured out.
You just need to start andtrust yourself along the way.
Stick around through to the endto see how E navigated the ups
and downs, what she learned andhow our community helped her
stay focused and confident everystep of the way.
Let's jump in.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Well, my name is Yi Chong and I am from Portland,
oregon.
I have three sons, ages 17, 9,and 1 is turning 5 today.
Oh wow, I also work full-timeas a recruiter for a power
(02:03):
company, and my life is alwayslike on the go.
There's never really a downtime.
My husband works full-time too,so we're just both tag-teaming
each other all the time, andthat's my life here in Portland.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah, so you're a busy mom working a full-time job
.
Yes, okay.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yep, and started this side business almost, maybe a
little over a year ago.
Yeah, okay, yep, and startedthis side business almost maybe
a little over a year ago.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, so you were just telling me about that, tell
, let's tell our listeners aboutthat again.
You joined on April 1st and youfelt like it was an April
Fool's.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yes.
So I've always loved homes.
I've always want to turnsomething broken into something
that is, you know, still a gooduse to someone, or maybe a
community, and so and I lovejust watching making homes
better than they are.
So this was like several yearsago.
(02:55):
I just never got around to itbecause of life, kids and work.
And so when I came across theFlip Sister program, I looked
into it a little bit more and Ilove that it's a woman community
and that I love that there'swomen in the community that's
never done this before and theyjust jump in with both feet and
(03:16):
they go and the support thatthey give each other.
And so I decided to sign up andhave a conversation, and it
turned out to be something thatI think that I really can be a
part of, that I see myselfthriving in, and so that all
happened.
And the day that I signed upwas on April 1st, on April's
(03:37):
Fools, and so I was thinking tomyself am I fooling myself?
But that day is importantbecause it is truly the turning
point of me doing what I love todo and what my true passion is
for so long.
So that is a big day for me.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Yeah, yeah, that's so cool.
I love that.
I love that you can take that.
Am I fooling myself?
Is this really real?
And now you've turned it to,that was the turning point for
me.
That was when it made this allreal.
My dream is starting to cometrue.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yep, yep, for sure.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So okay, so you were paired up with Coach Blair for
your one-on-one calls and youwent through the coursework and
all of the things and then youstarted making offers on
properties.
Went through the coursework andall of the things and then you
started making offers onproperties.
Tell us about the property thatyou flipped that we're here to
hear about today.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
We want to know all the things about it.
Yes, so I started looking atproperties in my hometown and so
everything was just soexpensive in Portland I think a
lot of ladies can relate to thatand the competition is also
pretty, pretty tough.
I was getting outbid a lot andthen offers weren't just
(04:53):
accepted because I was theseller, just wasn't interested
in my offer, but then the number.
I had to make an offer based onthe DA.
Just because I'm so new at this, I don't want to make a big
mistake and then be out of thegame all of a sudden.
So I tried for probably aboutfour or five more months in my
(05:17):
hometown, just kind of keepingmy eyes out in the market what's
out there.
I connected with aninvestor-friendly realtor and
she helped me write the yellowletters as well, and then
getting lists from the countyjust a different list that we
can tap into along with keepingmy eyes on the market, and it
(05:40):
just kind of continued to wheremy offers weren't being accepted
and I just wasn't gettinganywhere.
Like five months went by.
I decided to branch outside ofOregon and I was also part of
just some network of outside ofthe Flip Sister community, more
local, of other people that arelike-minded, and they suggested
(06:05):
that I look in the Midwest.
So they threw out a couple ofstates that I started looking
into.
So Michigan was the first one,detroit, michigan.
It was pretty volatile.
I quickly found that out and mylender actually told me that,
hey, this is your first timeflipping.
If I were you, I probablywouldn't, you know, work in this
(06:26):
area.
It's very, very different andone side of the neighborhood can
be completely different fromthe other and there's.
And so he just gave me a bunchof like advice, which I can
appreciate, because a lender whotakes the time to kind of watch
out for you, if you will, Iappreciate that.
And so a month goes by.
I decided to look into Ohio,which is another recommendation
(06:50):
from the network and the peoplethat made these recommendations
to me.
They have connections that Ican tap into.
So I connected with a realtorin the Cincinnati area and she
was also an investor-friendlyreal estate and helped me put
out offers and within a month Igot an offer accepted.
(07:13):
So I went through a very longjourney to get there, but I
didn't give up.
I knew that I needed to expandmy network.
I knew that I needed to stepoutside of my comfort zone
because, being a first time fixand flip person and trying to do
this remotely, it was reallyscary.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And I love what you said about your lender looking
out for you, right?
So we talk about that all thetime.
Our lender is another teammember.
They are another set of eyes onour deals.
They're there to protect us,too, right?
Yeah, I mean, that's awesomethat you had that relationship
with them and they were able tohelp steer you in a different
direction.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yeah, yes, yeah, and not that I couldn't do it in
Detroit, it was just that, beingthat it was going to be my
first one, probably save thatone for later, is what they were
saying.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Yeah, yeah, great advice.
So this house was on the MLS orit was a wholesale deal or it
was off market, but where was it?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, it was actually on the MLS and it came on my
radar before my realtor showedit to me, so I connected with
her quickly and that's how wegot the deal rolling.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Okay, okay.
So all the things tell us howthe flip went.
Was it smooth, perfect sailing,Was there any hiccups?
What did you experience duringthat?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah.
So once I got under contract Iwas super nervous but then
excited at the same time.
I couldn't believe it washappening.
But I just had to kind of, likeyou know, pull myself together
and go okay, well, you know, nowit's time to really take some
action.
And my realtor, she has a greatdatabase of just people that
she's connected with, likegeneral contractors,
(09:01):
subcontractors that she was ableto, yeah, referrals that she
was able to let me tap into.
So we have a general contractorthat walked the property and
came up with a bid.
And at that point I decided myrealtor was saying, because
she's my eyes and boots on theground, and so she walked the
(09:23):
property and she's like we'regoing to, we're going to be
fixing a lot of things in thehome anyway, and she recommended
, or suggested, I would say, ifI want to waive the inspection.
And so I did.
The GC walked the property andand they were like, yeah, he,
he's pretty used to, you know,know, doing the inspections
(09:44):
piece and and can get a goodrehab budget together for us.
So I went with that option andwe found some things that needed
to be repair that went just alittle over the number that we
thought it would be for rehab,and so we went to the seller and
negotiated the.
(10:05):
The listing price at $100,000and we negotiated down to
$93,000.
And at that point we weren'tsure if the seller was going to
accept it.
But the next day my realtorreached out to me and said that
they accepted it.
So that's when it became real.
And the Boots on the Ground,team man, they are just ready to
hit the ground running.
They.
They started the project andalmost immediately, I want to
(10:29):
say they wanted to start thatsame week, but I had to secure
some fundings for the rehabbudget and so I asked if we can
start the following week.
But that just made me feelreally good about how motivated
the team is.
And I'm not even there to, likeyou know, really keep an eye on
everything at all times, and sojust knowing that I'm working
(10:51):
with a really motivated team, itgives me some comfort, being so
remote to the project.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, yeah, it sounds like you've got a really
fabulous team in place there,and I think that's a big part of
the experience for a lot of usis, you know, having that good
team in place, you know, whenyou've got people that you can
count on and that you feel goodabout and you communicate well
with, it just makes everythinggo a little bit smoother.
Okay, yeah, yes for sure, allright.
So purchase price was $93,000.
(11:19):
What was your renovation budgetto begin with, and timeline and
ARV?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, so $57,000 was our rehab budget and our
timeline.
We were thinking three monthsand then we should be able to
turn that around, turn theproperty around in three months
and put it back on the market.
And then the ARV.
The lender actually came backto us with an ARV of way higher
(11:48):
than we thought, but we werebeing conservative.
We were like, well, we're goingto become conservative, so it
was at 200,000.
That was our conservativenumber, I think.
Our lender came back with 235and we were like that is a huge
gap, but sure.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And that's okay, as long as your purchase price and
your renovation budget and allof those things are based on
that more conservative number,right?
So yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
We always lean towards the conservative side,
uh, just since the beginning ofthe project.
And so, yeah, that was the ARV.
We were able to.
We started the project, westarted the renovation I want to
say early November and the teamjust worked through the
holidays.
I was being mindful of, youknow, family.
(12:33):
I know it's getting towards theend of the year and they want
to be with families, and thenthere's weather conditions that
came into play too, and so I waskeeping all of those in mind
and just checking with the team,like on a weekly or biweekly
basis, and they're pretty goodabout that.
They would send me pictures andvideos or just, you know,
answer quick text messages.
So they were prettycommunicative.
(12:54):
So worked on renovating theproject throughout the whole
November, December and January,Wrapped up in January and then
we went out back out to marketearly February.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Nice, so stayed within your timeline.
How about?
Speaker 3 (13:11):
my timeline.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I think you kind of mentioned earlier budget.
Maybe went just a little over.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
We actually stayed within budget because they were
able to complete the renovationjust under budget a little bit.
But then we had some surprisesduring inspection when we had a
seller interested in theproperty and we're under
contract.
There were some termite repairsthat needed to be done.
There were some foundationissues, but we had a foundation
(13:40):
specialist come out and theypassed it, so it wasn't a huge
deal.
Otherwise I think it would haveadded to my rehab budget.
And the other one was we had toreplace the water heater and
then there were just some othermiscellaneous ones that were
smaller, but those were the twobig ones that stayed with me.
And yeah, even after gettingall of those repaired for the
(14:01):
potential buyer, because we cameunder budget by a little, it
didn't put me over the 57 thatwe originally had planned for.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Yeah, with your buffer and all that in there.
Okay.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Cool, definitely with the buffer.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Nice, sounds like a really well-managed project.
So you had a few surprises withyour repairs, with the
inspection I know you mentionedbecause in our Facebook group,
in our community we always postthose post-deal analysis and in
yours you kind of mentioned thatyou definitely would have
gotten the formal inspection,like when you purchased.
(14:39):
Yeah, do you think that wouldhave saved some of those repairs
on the end?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yeah, do you think that would have saved some of
those repairs on the end.
I think so.
Well, I would have ended upfixing it anyway.
I wouldn't have gone back tothe seller at that time to take
care of.
So I think it would have beenwithin the budget.
I think I would have had ahigher rehab budget.
Knowing those things up front,I think, kind of feeling I felt
(15:07):
like I was kind of well, it wasa surprise and I initially, when
I heard that we had to go backand fix those things, I was my
my head just immediately wentinto like worst case scenario,
like what if it's like $20,000more?
And I did not plan for that andyou know, it just kind of
spiraled from there.
So there was a moment of heartattack there.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that's totally normal.
That's a normal reaction,especially when you haven't done
this before and you're notsuper familiar with like prices
and costs of repairs and thingslike that.
It automatically, especiallywhen you hear things like
foundation and water heater andyou know things like that.
It automatically.
Especially when you hear thingslike foundation and water
heater and things like that, wesort of immediately rush to that
panic state instead of findingout okay, well, how much is it
(15:54):
going to cost before I panic.
I think that's really normal.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I've been really on my team this whole time to just
help me with decisions andprovide options and so my
realtors my realtor.
She became IPM also so she wasreally quick to find people
within her network to get usquotes and we got some good bids
that came in and was able tomake it work with our existing
(16:21):
budget fully and closing justgot delayed by maybe a week, but
it wasn't terrible, not bad.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Not bad.
Okay, so then final sales price.
Did you come in at the $200,000?
Where did you land there?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Yeah, we came in just $205,000.
That was the sold price, butthe $5,000 was really to give
back to the seller to help withtheir closing costs.
Okay, so you came in right atyour $200,000.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yeah, I did so.
You were accurate on your ARVprojections there.
That's awesome.
Yeah, yes, Okay.
So what was your favorite partof the entire flip process?
Speaker 3 (17:09):
My favorite part, I'd have to say, would be
connecting with people like justpeople.
That includes my team, like myrealtor, my GC, all the
subcontractors that werereferred to me to help with the
renovations, and the seller theseller that sold me this first
flip.
They wrote me a letter when weclosed, and it was a heartfelt
(17:32):
letter, saying that this home isreally special to them and that
it's been in their family fordecades and they hope that when
I renovate it and if I plan tolive in it, that they hope I
really enjoy it.
But then if I'm going torenovate it and sell it to
another family, then they hopethat that family would enjoy it
(17:53):
as much as they did.
It held a lot of memories forthem, so that was really special
and that letter is going to bepart of my portfolio for this
flip project for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
It really is amazing.
Homes hold such a importantpart of our lives right and to
have them reach out to you likethat and to have you recognize
that and not just, you know,kind of throw the letter in the
file X, you know, and forgetabout it, to really take that to
(18:24):
heart.
I think that speaks a lot abouthow you do business and how you
care about people in the end,because it's people first, right
, always people first.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Always people, yes.
And then I mean, if you takecare of that, then everything
just kind of comes into place.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Absolutely, I agree.
You put good out into theuniverse and good comes back to
you.
A hundred percent.
Absolutely, I agree.
You put good out into theuniverse.
Good comes back to you 100%.
Did you have any limitingbeliefs or mindset obstacles
before or during the flip?
Like where was your mindset atwhen you were going through the
whole process of getting yourfirst flip and being in your
first flip?
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Yes, the mindset it was definitely scary.
I mentioned that a couple timesalready, yeah, but I think that
because I'm part of thiscommunity and I'm seeing, like,
what other people have gonethrough and then and then, how
they made it through all oftheir obstacles and and then the
end result, it was just reallyinspiring.
(19:21):
So I had to, I have to kind ofrely on those stories that I
read on within the community andthere were times when I had to
reach out to my realtor just tomake sure that she has what she
needs to get the project doneand that if I'm feeling nervous
about it I would tell her andthen she would give me maybe
(19:45):
more information that'shappening on her end that I
might not be privy to to calm mynerves.
So she definitely knows mystyle and you know the types of
questions and worries that Ihave on my end and that's why
it's been such a great you knowrelationship working with her.
You have to just kind of geteach other and know how each
(20:06):
other works and and keep eachother grounded.
So she was definitely a therock throughout my journey, as
well as the Flip Sistercommunity and and then just
having family be a support inthe background as well.
I mean, the LLC is my.
I have an LLC set up for forthis and I'm the only one who's
(20:28):
kind of going through this inthe family, so they would hear a
little bit here and there, butthey're not really going through
the journey with me, so they'rekind of in the background just
being a cheerleader.
So all of that really kept megoing.
But I think the most importantpart is I think the most
important piece is is is me LikeI do a lot of self-talk to
(20:50):
remind myself why I'm doing thisand that this is my passion and
that I'm capable and that I get, I'm bound to run into
challenges, and that's just.
That's just part of the game.
It's it's how you show up whenthose things come up, how you
work through it and how yourespond to those situations is
what matters.
So did a lot of self-talk.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Yes, yes, I cannot cheerlead enough on that point.
So my dad, papa Don, as we callhim, has told me from the time
I was really, really little thatyou can't control other
people's actions and you can'tcontrol the world around you,
but you can control how youreact.
You can control that.
(21:33):
So having that self-awareness,I mean that's such a great skill
it really is.
That's really an amazing skillthat you've got developed there.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, yeah.
So what do you think if youthink back across the entire
flip?
Is there anything that you wishyou would have done differently
?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Yes, I think I would have not used so much of my own
personal fund just because Ifelt like I kind of put myself
and my family in a tight spot.
So, like the gap fundings andit was mostly the gap fundings I
had used my own personalfundings and I wish I would have
(22:18):
hindsight.
I wish I would have maybe askedfor a PML.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah, because you used an HML for the purchase and
the closing costs and the rehaband then used your own private
funds for the gap, thosecarrying costs, utilities
insurance, that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
Yes, Okay, yeah, it was like making two mortgage
payments and paying for twoutility bills every month for
three to four months maybe evenfive months, and so that that
was pretty tight, and I wouldprobably not do that again if I
don't have to.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, yeah, I think, and I think that's a normal like
.
I think we normally, if we havethe funds, jump to funding
ourselves because it feels saferfor some reason, when you know
the reality is we're actuallyoffering opportunities to those
around us to make money, to makea better return than they can
make in the stock market, right?
(23:17):
So, yeah, that's another,another little mindset piece.
I think that all of us kind ofgo through at one point or
another.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Yeah, for sure, yeah, but that's what I would do.
Okay, next time.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, yeah.
So I was looking back at youronboarding questionnaire that we
always ask you for when youfirst join.
I was just going to pull itback up here, but I wanted to
read a couple things off herefor you.
One of the things that you saidwhen you answered the question
(23:51):
what would you like tocontribute to the world?
You said in my current line ofwork, I help people find a
career or next steps, and I'dlike to continue down the path
of helping people, but possiblyin a different capacity, such as
providing them with a wonderfulhome to live in.
A home can provide stability,security, warmth and love.
It would be amazing to be ableto give that to people.
(24:12):
So I want to know do you feellike you've accomplished that?
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Yes, especially within my first flip.
I feel like I definitely didthat, because the buyer that
purchased the flipped home itwas a family who is looking to
grow and it was a small home andit was perfect for, like a
first time home buyer, a smallfamily, and that's exactly who
(24:37):
had purchased the home.
So I'm really excited to havepassed that on to another family
.
Yeah, so I feel like I did justthat's awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
That's amazing.
That's so cool.
I love seeing people come intoour group with no experience and
coming full circle and beingable to reach those goals that
they set down for themselves.
So that's that's an awesomestory, is there?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
anything for reading that, thank you for reading that
.
Thank you for reading that.
I had forgotten about that.
Those questions at thebeginning.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
What do you see for yourself?
Speaker 3 (25:14):
moving forward.
Well, it's on to the next andit's just kind of keeping my
eyes out for deals, makingoffers and continuing, you know,
the partnership with my team.
I know they've reached out tome a couple of times asking when
my next one is going to be, andso I know they're excited to
work with me again, which is itmakes me feel good.
(25:36):
I'm still looking in theCincinnati market, but I'm also
keeping my eyes in the Portlandmarket now, just because I
eventually want to bring it backhome and be closer to the
project and maybe be moreinvolved instead of a remote
investor, if you will.
So that's kind of where my headis right now, but definitely
looking for the next deal andgoing from there.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Great, I love it.
I love it.
You've got such a great storyand thank you so much for being
here today and sharing that withus.
Is there any final thoughtsthat you would like to share
today that you didn't get achance to talk about?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
I don't think so.
You asked really greatquestions.
I just want to say that I trulylove this community and I
wouldn't have I wouldn't be heretoday if I didn't have this
community and the support, and Iwant to encourage other sisters
, flip sisters in the communityto continually share their
questions.
I learned so much from each oneof them that poses questions
(26:35):
out there and the stories thatthey share.
You know challenges and winsall of it.
They all matter and I want thiscommunity to keep growing
because I know that we canthrive together for sure.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
We're definitely better together.
A hundred percent.
I agree with you there.
Well, thanks for being herewith me today.
It was great talking to you.
I love that I actually got tomeet you in person and I'm
really looking forward tohearing more from you in our
community.
So thanks, so much, thank youso much.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Yeah, thanks for inviting me.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Signed, sealed, delivered.
A big, heartfelt thank you toEve for showing up with such
honesty and trust today.
Her willingness to be coachable, to stay open and to fully
embrace the process is exactlywhat makes stories like hers
possible.
She walked into her first flip,leaned into the fear and walked
out with just under $20,000 inprofit.
And the best part, she'salready fired up and looking for
her next deal With Flip Sisters.
(27:36):
You don't have to figure thisout on your own.
Our guidance is second to none.
We've got a team of experienced, passionate, one-on-one coaches
ready to walk beside you,helping you build real
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