July 12, 2023 • 40 mins
Our FlipSister Elizabeth in California, once a graphic designer turned recreational therapist turned gym owner turned cleaning service owner, takes us on her first flip to rent journey!
Learn the difference between a short term rental and a mid term rental. Listen as she shares her intriguing transition from designing graphics to designing spaces, and unlocking fulfillment through her creative passion and desire to bring joy to people.
Elizabeth takes us through her flip and shares:
- How she found the deal
- How she financed it all
- Her challenges along the way
- What she learned about herself in the process
- How she navigated all the things
- That feeling of getting her first booking
- Her first guest experience
- The biggest takeaway she learned by accomplishing this goal she had (and it's a BIG one!)
Let Elizabeth's story inspire and guide you as you consider or continue your journey in the business of flipping houses to sell or to rent. No matter where you are in your journey, her tale is sure to equip you with fresh perspectives and strategies for your own venture.
GOODIES
1. THE book on women flipping houses is here! Click here to grab the digital download of my new book for just $4.99! Just as everything else we do is different, so is FLIPPED: Lessons and Stories of Women Flipping Houses and Facing Their Fears.
2. Sick of sitting on the sideline watching other people do the thing you want to be doing? Are you FINALLY ready to do what it takes to flip your first house and want incredible step-by-step training and support to get you there faster? Click here to see if we may be a fit to work together.
3. Follow That Flip! Follow this 8-part video series as we flip a house!
4. Our goal is to inspire 1,000 new women each month and we've been achieving it with help from loyal listeners like you! If you are getting value out of this podcast will you kindly leave us a rating and review and help us spread our message?
5. Are you a real estate agent tired of chasing the same potential clients as everyone else? Sick of the roller coaster commission? Get the REI Agent Pro Certification! Click here for info and to join the waitlist.
Debbie DeBerry | The Flipstress®
Leaving people and places better than we find them.
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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 delivers honest togoodness tools, tips and
(00:21):
strategies you can implementtoday to get closer to your
first or next successful houseflip.
Here's your spiky-hairedbreakfast taco-loving host.
House flipping coach DebbieDePiri.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hey, thanks for hanging out with me today.
You're gonna love thisinterview.
I know I say that every time,but it's true.
So today's episode is all aboutElizabeth in California and her
first furnished rental, whichshe is doing as a midterm rental
, which, if you don't know whata midterm rental is and how it
(01:04):
differs from a short-term rental, let me do a little bit of
teaching right now.
So a short-term rental istypically anything less than 29
days.
It's usually a weekend, it'susually a few days, maybe a
couple weeks, but it'stechnically classified as fewer
than 29 days.
(01:25):
A midterm rental is 30 days ormore, and typically it's 30 days
, maybe three months, maybe upto six months, and then anything
beyond that really isconsidered your traditional
long-term rental.
So midterm rentals are abeautiful sweet spot that I've
(01:47):
been talking about for yearsthat is still not as well known,
especially as short-termrentals.
So it's more of a sleepercategory of furnished rentals.
It's definitely grown recentlyand the reason why is because a
(02:10):
midterm rental is basically yourworkaround to wanting a
furnished rental in an area thatmaybe it's really highly
regulated.
So short-term rentals aren'tactually allowed.
The rules around short-termrentals are different in every
(02:30):
city, so one city it might bethat short-term rentals are only
allowed if it's anowner-occupied property, or it
might be that there are athousand short-term rental
permits only.
Or it might be that you can'thave another short-term rental
(02:51):
property.
There can't be another permitwithin 50 feet of your property.
Like I said, the rules andregulations can look many
different ways.
The point is a lot of peoplebecause of the tight regulations
, the workaround is having afurnished rental but requiring
(03:12):
30-night bookings or greater.
So that is a workaround.
Another reason why people likethe midterm market better reason
being I have found that I cancompare.
I can run a property as ashort-term rental and as a
midterm rental, and short-termrentals typically have way more
(03:34):
expenses.
So I've got more cleaningexpenses, I've got more wear and
tear.
I've just got more expenses ona short-term rental.
If that same property is usedas a midterm rental instead,
there's a lot less wear and tear, fewer groups coming in and out
.
So at the end of the day theycould be even, or the midterm
(03:58):
rental actually oftenoutperforms.
It really just depends on themarket.
Obviously, a beach marketshort-term rentals are fantastic
.
Or a really cool destinationproperty Maybe it's secluded,
maybe it's on the lake those areclear short-term rentals.
But if you've got travelingnurses or traveling
(04:22):
professionals, anything likethat where people come in and
hang out for a while for a month, two months, three months or
people are relocating a lotnomads, people who are remote
workers, who can work fromwherever they want to be and
they want to escape the heat ofAustin, texas, like I am, and
(04:42):
I'm in Santa Fe right now in mynewly listed midterm rental so
it's a different kind of market,it's a different category of
furnished rentals and I lovethem.
So now that we'vedifferentiated between midterm
rentals and short-term rentals,let's get into this conversation
with Elizabeth.
(05:02):
She's going to walk us throughher first furnished rental flip.
Let us know who you are andwhere you are, what you're up to
and any other little backgroundinformation you want to.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Okay, so my name is Elizabeth, I am in Modesto,
california, and what a littlebit about me is.
I am a mother and I like tothink of myself as a giver, and
I learned a long time ago, backwhen I graduated college and I
(05:38):
took my first job, that I willnever, ever do something to earn
money, just to earn money.
This is my first position.
I went to school for fine artand graphic design and art
history minor.
Oh cool.
Yeah, my dream was to make andillustrate children's books, but
(05:58):
even then I was like I know,I'm not going to do this until
after my kids whatever kids Ihave are grown and out of the
house.
I just didn't see that.
So I was like, okay, how am Igoing to still from here to
there?
Oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
It's a long time to fill.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yes, it is.
But I was like you know what Ireally enjoy?
Art.
I feel fulfilled with it and Iwant to make other people happy.
But how am I going to makemoney?
Because I know it's going totake me a long time as a fine
artist to figure that out.
And I got my first job as agraphic designer.
I was like, hey, I can putbread on the table for that.
And I realized very quickly Ihate it.
(06:32):
I hate it.
Oh, working at the computer,you know, meeting those
deadlines.
And then I was like I'm notimpacting people and I felt that
.
And my roommate at the time wasa recreational therapist and
she'd come home with thesefilling, these stories of just
how she touched her resident'sheart every single day.
(06:56):
I was like I want to do that.
So I had moved from centralPennsylvania up to Long Island,
was commuting into Manhattanthat's where we lived and so
within three and a half monthsof realizing you know, I was
crying every day into work,crying on the train on the way
home, and it was like it wasn'tfor me.
(07:16):
But I had.
I know I had to go through thatto know that I didn't miss it.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
So I can move back home, got an assistant physician
as a rec therapist, loved it.
I was like I'm soul searching.
And I soul searched and said,okay, I don't want to do this as
a career, but you know, what Ireally like over here is fitness
.
It's embodying me.
I like to be fit and theretirement community I was
working for was building thishuge, whole new fitness center
(07:50):
Olympic sized swimming pools,heating up all the things, and
they're going to be hiring allthe stuff.
So I went to the director ofthat department and I said I
want to be here.
I said what do I need to do tobe here?
So she told me and we had tonegotiate with my boss and the
data for me to transfer.
So, anyway, work my way up tobe in charge of the fitness
department thereafter a coupleof years and manage people there
(08:11):
and then was like, okay, I'mgrown here, I want to learn a
different aspect.
So I went to the private gymsector after that and in the
meantime I had my first son andI went back after having I left
this wonderful nurturingenvironment, for residents were
crocheting me blind.
I mean it was.
It was the most.
(08:32):
I mean gosh, you walked awayevery day feeling you've touched
somebody's life and they don't.
I don't know if they realizedhow much I got from them as well
.
That's what I learned that ageis a mind sense.
I was like it's all in yourmind to see these 80 year olds
pretending to run on the pooldeck and ball into the deep bed
(08:54):
and I'm like, oh my God, life'sburning on.
Oh no, no, running on the pooldeck.
You know they're like, oh, Imean.
And then people in wheelchairs.
They couldn't do hardlyanything to themselves, still
coming out when I was inactivities going and I'm like I
remember asking this one lady islike, how do you do it?
She goes what else am I goingto do?
Why be miserable on my lasttime on earth?
(09:16):
I might as well enjoy what Ihave, and this is why I like
coming out and doing things withyou.
I was like, oh, okay.
And I was like, wow, her namewas Sylvia and I still remember
her all these years, 23, fiveyears later, I'm like who was my
, my aha being a mindset.
(09:37):
So then, through that, I wentthrough the private gym sector
and managed that for a while,had baby one, baby two.
I decided I'm stepping backbecause I like to give my all to
what I'm doing and I didn'twant to feel split between my
children.
And so we made that change andI became a state home mom for
(09:57):
like the next 12 years and thatwas wonderful.
I mean wonderful I could giveto my kids.
I was, you know, I'm stillvolunteering.
I'm sorry, I'm doing everythingI was before plus now raising
my babies.
You know we ended up havingthree being there for them in
their schools, doing, you know,being involved in their
activities, doing girl scouttowards gouts, all the stuff,
(10:19):
right, all the things.
And then pandemic came.
You know we're in the gymbusiness and those got shut down
, with California opening andthen closing, and then we open
and we close.
That's not a lot of I don'tknow.
A lot of people don't realizehow much is involved with even
(10:42):
shutting down a bit.
You think, oh, you just shutthe doors, oh no, from one that
is 24 hours, seven days a week,to then figure out how am I
going to close this?
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Establishing procedures and reopening and
financial commitment that isinvolved in that.
So it became, you know, scarybecause it opens and floats.
And then we're like, is itgoing to open again?
Is the governor going to letthis happen?
So we're sitting here, I'mdoing like this, things are
going on longer and longer andI'm going oh my gosh, I was like
(11:14):
you know what?
I felt like I needed to dosomething.
I was like I've had such aprivilege and a gift for my
husband.
He was always so supportive andhe's like always believe what I
was doing at home wasabsolutely essential.
It let him do what he needed todo.
He goes raising good childrenand we're a team, you know,
(11:35):
whatever.
So I was like I need to dosomething, because when we go
back, things are gonna open, butI'm not sure what it's gonna
look like and I don't wanna sayno to my kids.
You can't do this because wedon't pay for it.
So that was my ultimatemotivation.
My friend owned a cleaningbusiness.
Oh, okay, I reached out to herand said hey, you know, you've
(11:58):
said a few times that you know,you don't know who you wanna
hire.
You know, bring other peopleinto other people's homes and
trust them because she reallytook that vulnerability.
People was opening their homesand letting you in.
She took that very seriouslyand she like wanna hire.
So I reached out and said hey,you need some help, I'm here.
And quickly after that, youknow, a few months later, she
(12:22):
said hey, we're moving toOklahoma.
And I was like what?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Oh, good grief.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Yeah.
But she said, through soulsearching and prayer, she said
would you like to take over this?
She's like I'm struggling, Idon't wanna just hand it over to
some bigger company.
They're just gonna raise theirrates and they're not gonna
really care about theseindividuals.
So we worked it out and I tookover the cleaning business when
(12:48):
she left and so I said, okay,this will allow me to say yes to
my kids, no matter what.
I was like you know, whateverhappens, and so things reopen.
You know things going back on.
And I was like you know whatAlso through all this, you know,
like a year later, half a yearlater.
So I realized I was like youknow what?
What do I really wanna do If Iwas gonna go back?
(13:13):
I was like I could expand thisbusiness and make it multiple.
I was like within a year, Icould have hired help.
You know, I mean, everybodykept their cleaner during the
pandemic.
I didn't know anybody thatcanceled their cleaner, right?
Yep, yeah, I'm wearing masksand gloves going to people's
homes.
And we still worked it out.
So I then said, huh, the wholetypical thing HGGB you're
(13:38):
looking at, I always for yearsbuying my own house years ago.
Whatever, I would still checkin, probably weekly Red Van
Zillow, oh, what's going on hereBecause we're crazy and we are
obsessed with houses, yes, yes.
So I then was like producingpodcasts and I saw your little
(14:00):
logo and I was like, huh, whatkind of girl, what's this?
And I was like I mean, I wassold after the first one, but I
listened to a few more episodesand I remember coming home and
being like to my husband do youknow, have you ever heard about
hard money?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And he's like what I was, like we could do this.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
I was like that when I heard that episode about and
you talked about hard money, mymind was blown.
I stopped and rewound it.
I was like wait, wait, wait,wait, wait.
Did I hear this again?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
What is this wacky business she's talking about?
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Yes.
So I then was like, okay, didthe interest call and, yeah,
talked it out a little bit andyeah, there I am, I joined.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I love it and oh wait .
So I wanted to ask, I'm justcurious, you were in the
Northeast, what took you toCalifornia?
The gym business?
Speaker 3 (15:01):
The gym business.
Yeah, it moved.
The people we work with movedfrom.
They moved their businesslocation from the East Coast to
the West.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Okay, so let's talk about your first project.
Okay, so you just recently,within the last few weeks,
listed your first midterm rentalright, your first furnished
rental.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yes, yes, this is my very, very, very, very first
thing.
So my longterm goal was to flipa few houses but also attain
some properties for holding forlongterm purposes and thinking
online retirement and helpingout with that.
So I've been walking let's see.
(15:54):
Well, you start with the teamand then I started walking
properties with my realtor andconstruction gentlemen who would
help give me ideas and hone inif I'm offer on with estimations
, and we all three of us, so myconstruction and my realtor and
(16:15):
I.
I found this on the MLS.
Okay, I said, hey, let's gocheck this out.
And I just had this like feeling.
I'm like you're the littlecondo with the two bedroom, one
bath condo, and I rememberwalking into the courtyard of
where it is.
It's one of like three condocomplexes and they're they're
(16:38):
each kind of separate propertiesa little bit, and mine, of
course, is in the cutest condomenu.
It's got like, of course, brick, you know, exposed brick in the
black right on the fire andsenses, and it's a.
It's a half a mile barely froma hospital that's one of the big
hospitals in in my city, nice.
(17:00):
I walked in the courtyard and Ijust had this.
It just came over me likefeeling it just like, started
from my head and just dresseditself all the way down my toes
and I stopped and I looked atthe court year and I went, oh,
this is so cute and peaceful andquiet.
(17:23):
And then I thought I would livehere and this is my thought.
And I thought, whoa, I heardthat and I went, yeah, if I was
a single, my goal to go towardsmedical professionals I was a
single nurse or female doctorLike this is pretty good.
And I walked inside and wetoured it.
(17:44):
My contract was like you don'tneed to do anything this place.
I'm like, oh, no, it really wasas we talked about it, was it?
Definitely I could have justtaken it and just paint
everything and just had someonemove into it, right, and I would
have rented it for market valueand it would have paid for
(18:04):
itself Broken, even honestly,it's that kind of condition.
But I was like, no, I want todo this through the traveling
professional and the price pointfor that is going to demand a
little bit nicer, because if Iwas coming in here and and
paying for this, you know I'dwant it to be a nice way.
Yeah, so we're standing theretalking about it in my real
(18:28):
estate agent and we're talkingnumbers and, like you, know,
worst case scenario if it'sdoesn't read as a furnished
place what I could do with it.
And she's like this would work.
And I was like you really thinkso and you know I already kind
of run some numbers.
But I'll be honest, the rentalside, I'm a little more.
(18:51):
I wasn't so sure at that pointreally and I didn't quite
understand everything and I'mstill learning, yeah.
But I in my gut I was like, ohheck, no, I think this is going
to work and I just knew it.
I think, even if the worst casewith the HOA fees, it's going
to work, yeah.
And so I said, okay, let's doit.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
So were you open to when you were out looking?
Were you open to either onethat came up like were you open
to a flip or a rental, or wereyou just looking for a rental at
this point or what?
What was your process, kind ofwhatever.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
I wanted to flip.
Honestly and in the ideal worldI was, I wanted to do a flip so
then I could use the funds fromthat to fund purchasing a
rental.
But in the back of my mind Ialso knew I have funds to do one
rental purchase and then afterthat what it either that or do
now fund a rehab up to a certaindegree for flip.
(19:53):
So I had reserved, and so atthat point I said, okay, the
money's presenting itself, Ihaven't found a flip that's
appropriate yet, but this rentalwill work.
And so we did.
I went home and I said, honey,he's like, go for it.
You know he was all verysupportive and so I put an offer
(20:16):
in that what the house alreadyhad an offer or the condo
already had an offer.
But it ended up being that myreal estate agent, the person
who had the office in her office, her, it was a friend real
estate agent in there, so theywork in the same brokerage and
(20:37):
so they talked and she said Iknow him and she goes, if you
just come in even just a tinybit higher, he's going to
probably choose you.
And plus, I was doing a hardmoney loan.
That's what I figured I wasgoing to do right and then
refinance or something.
And I'm talking to my hardmoney lender through all this
(20:59):
and he's assuring me right, andso we put in the offer, and so
we're up to the point of provingfunds, I guess.
And we get more nitpicky withthe hard money guy and he was
telling me I was like, cool, Ican do this a little higher than
(21:20):
normal.
But you know, it's cool, beeasy, I can still do this.
And then he sent it to hisunderwriter, like God.
He sent me a screen checkbecause this is what the
underwriter said I'm like and Iwent what.
Like I got mad.
I was like no, I was like thisis no.
(21:42):
The interest rate went way up.
I guess I was still learningabout arms and all these things.
I was like I can't, even if Ifind a better deal the interest
rate I can't do prepaint, Ican't do prepayments, I'll have
penalties.
And I was like my, I was justmad and I was like no, I can do
(22:03):
better.
Yeah, so I made a call to afriend.
This was a what day?
This was like a Friday.
I was like I don't have time totalk to her about this.
She's busy doing her thing, I'mbusy doing my thing.
So come like Monday and thenTuesday passes.
(22:26):
And I was just like, okay,whatever.
So we ended up connectingTuesday and I said this is a
situation I'm paying skyrocketinterest and being locked into
something that I just don't feelcomfortable and if I drop out
of someone, lose my earnestmoney and which, okay, fine, I'm
going to lose it.
But anyway, she said, yeah, wecan make this happen.
(22:47):
I said, really, and this isgoing conventional.
And I said, are you sure?
Because this is my timeframe,I'm signed up, I'm under
contract and I got a show proofof funds and this is going to be
done in 21 days.
And she's like, yep, she goes,I've closed sooner than that.
I was like, as a conventional,she goes yes, as long as
everything's good.
And so we went through thatprocess, but the whole time
(23:08):
because showing proof of incomeand because my husband's an
independent contractor, you know, every time I had communication
it was more stuff I had to showfrom self and my stomach is
just turning.
And then huge knots.
I had some freak out momentswhere I'd be panicking Seriously
(23:29):
, like a panic attack like thisisn't going to work.
Oh my gosh, like I know we canafford it, but oh my gosh, I had
to at one point rememberstopping and I was sitting on my
fireplace hearse, I saidbreathe, I'm going through my
papers and I was like breathe.
I was like and I said I waslike channel Debbie.
(23:50):
I said what would Debbie do?
I said she'd say this is theproblem.
You're going to come up with asolution.
That's do you need to get tothat solution?
I love it.
She said don't make a decisionwhen you're so freaking out.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Basically, yes, you listen.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
What is it?
I stopped and I breathed forlike a minute or two.
I said, ok, now listen to yourbody.
Ok, your stomach is calmer,you're not having this tightness
in your chest anymore.
Yeah, and I was like, ok,you're now going to find this
paperwork that you need andyou're going to fax it over.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Oh my gosh, I love that and everything.
Ok, it all worked out.
So did you borrow money, enoughmoney, for the purchase and
then you used your own cash forthe renovations, or what did you
do?
Speaker 3 (24:58):
I did just the purchase.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
OK, so how much did you end up putting into updating
the property?
Because I would imagine youdidn't like renovate.
Did you you more updated, or OK?
Speaker 3 (25:14):
So I would say it's an update, but there are some
lessons learned in that anddefinitely cost more than what
it should have.
Ok, let's talk about those.
Let's talk about the lessons.
So I entered this project as akind of grace.
Well, I was like, ok, it's kindof smaller and I know it's
(25:35):
still going to cost money, butit's also a test.
This is me testing my team,it's me testing myself how are
we going to work this out?
And I knew I was like I'm goingto learn things on here what I
like, what I don't like to doand do the people that I'm
connected with.
Are they going to do what Ithink they're going to do?
Yes, Yep.
So through that I figured I waslike, ultimately I allowed
(26:02):
myself two months to do thisproject, to get it renovated and
furnished, but secretly I waspushing for 30 days.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
When did you close on the purchase?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
So it got recorded on the 25th of October.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
And what did you pay for it?
I forgot to ask.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
It was $221,000.
Ok, ok, and I put it Go ahead,go for it.
Down payment of $55,000.
Ok.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
And OK, so you go into it.
You have a silent goal of 30days, a spoken goal of 60 days.
How did all that go?
Oh, and what was your budgetgoing into it, were you thinking
?
Speaker 3 (26:50):
I was figuring about $10,000 to furnish and supply
everything for a full furnishedplace, and I was thinking
between $10,000 and $12,000 forrenovation costs for what I
wanted to do to it.
Ok, do you want me to tell youwhat it ended up being?
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Yes, because you kind of led with that with your
laughter.
So I'm curious what actuallyhappened.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
OK.
So with some of the laboringoupses that brought me up to
$27,600 roughly.
Ok.
So I went over about $5,000,$5,000, $6,000.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Oh for the total for everything it was $27,000.
Yeah, oh, for the furniture too.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Yes, oh, that's not bad.
It's not bad, no, but if Ididn't have my labor oupses I
could have been right on target.
Those were learning lessons Tome.
I kicked my butt in that, but Ialso was grateful for the
learning experiences and,knowing that something, I kind
(28:00):
of walked in going something'sgoing to happen and I don't know
what it is.
Yeah, and so I was prepared andnot really.
When something did happen, Ireally.
My husband was like are youupset?
I was like, no, actually, I'mkind of like it proved me right.
I'm trusty with my instinctsand I'm just going to go with it
.
I can't cry over this right nowbecause it's not going to do
anything.
(28:21):
So now I'm pivoting and turning.
I quickly got it fixed, but itcost me money to do it and I
walked in this project thinkingI was going to do some things
that I wanted to paint.
I wanted to paint the condo andI've done all my own houses
before and I wanted to tile thebacksplashes in the kitchen and
(28:41):
the bathroom.
But I was trying to take somepaint off the bathroom tub.
They had painted just theexterior wall of it, not the
inside them, and I couldn't getit off.
So I ended up calling thegentleman who had painted my
exterior of my current home overand I said do you refinished
(29:03):
tubs?
And it quickly went fromrefinishing tubs to painting my
cabinets, to painting that wholegosh darn condo, I said,
because he gave me such a goodprice for the tub.
I quickly realized.
Then too, I was like this isgoing to save me so much time.
And, what's more important, youwere right there in my ear,
right here, like buzzing realloud what is more important to
(29:24):
me.
I was like I'm doing thisbecause I want time, freedom and
spending this extra money whichI did not budget for that.
Ok, I was like, no, this isgood, I've just learned a lesson
.
Ok, I learned a lesson.
Now I know for next time.
When it came right down to it,I didn't want to do that, so I'm
hired.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Isn't that an awesome awareness to have, though,
right, and if you did want to doit, awesome and you did it,
great.
But you realize, actually Idon't really want to and I kind
of just want to hire it and getit done and be done with it and
that's OK.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Yes, yes, and I realized too, because doing the
house colors and all that, Ihave a friend who helped me, a
designer, when I was refinishingmy kitchen.
She helped me.
I came in with a big, broadidea and she helped me narrow it
down.
So I called her right at theback I said when can you come
over?
I need you to pick house colors.
And I used words because I hadthought about what I tell her is
(30:19):
going to.
She doesn't feel and think likethe way I do, right, but I need
to tell her words so I can getthe result I want out.
So I was very particular in thewords that I used and
describing how I want the placeto feel.
And so within that console shewhipped up some colors.
I was like, oh, you don't thinkthat's too dark.
She's like, no, did it get allthis kind of stuff?
(30:40):
I said, ok, you know what, I'mtrusting you.
Yeah, I'm trusting you.
You just tell me what colors,what sheens.
And that helped tremendouslybecause for me to choose colors
and tile in my own kitchen tookme weeks.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
I'm loving how much I'm hearing you leaning on other
people and what they are goodat.
Yes, that's impressive, becausea lot of people I don't want to
make that phone call.
I don't want to do that.
I don't want to.
No, make the phone calls,that's what they do.
They're really good at that.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Use your people and, I'll be honest, I still struggle
with that.
Calling her was easy becauseI've dealt with her before.
Yeah, calling my painter waseasy because I've dealt with him
before my contractor.
Starting out with him waspretty easy because I knew him
through other volunteerorganizations.
That feel pretty easy.
(31:33):
The first time I called a hardmoney lender I was I was
sweating under my armpits, likemy house is cold and I'm shaking
, I'm sweating, okay, but Ihadn't dealt with them before
and I'll be honest, the wholeeven right now Going forward
when I get my first flip, that'sgonna be a whole other ballgame
(31:55):
of stuff that I don't know andI'm gonna have to go through and
it's still scary Like I amscared right now, but I'm
prepping up.
I've started doing a little bitmore research.
I was like, okay, I've got thismidterm thing.
I still got to do some work onadvertising it and getting this
rolling, but it's doing greatright now.
But now I start shifting focusand get out there and do what
(32:16):
you.
You need to do the slip,because you need to prove to
yourself that you can do it,follow through and Because
there's a big thing here too.
I also learned to trust myselfin this process being.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
You know what you're doing I was like trust yourself,
but that's what it all comesdown.
It all every single time.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
It always comes back to it, and that's a big thing,
you know, because there's a lot,a lot of voices in there that
are like pushing out yeah forsure, and You're preparing for
the worst one.
Really, it's probably not gonnahappen, and probably not.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
And if and if it does , you're prepared, you can, you
can pivot, yeah, so okay.
So you got it All donerenovated, updated, furnished,
listed it for rent.
Did you get some bookings?
(33:12):
Yeah, okay, so I that's themost exciting thing ever when
you get your first booking on aproperty.
It was exciting and absolutelyterrifying.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
And Both and yes.
And I was like, oh my gosh,this is real.
And so I started jumping up anddown, I started crying and then
I went.
I was like I'm living this, butI was like, oh my gosh, no.
I called my husband.
He said what is it happening?
I said tomorrow.
He said tomorrow.
I said yes, he goes, that meanswe have to go over there
(33:44):
tonight and finish.
I said yes Because what happens?
As we were putting everythingback together?
You know we had testedeverything.
But I was like you know, I'venever actually run the
dishwasher through a whole cycleCovered, the dishwasher was
turning on and it sounded good,but it wasn't having water
coming in.
So we had had a repairpersonnel already.
We were waiting for the part,but we left the dishwasher open.
The cabinet doors were off, youknow, things were, and there
(34:06):
were some other things.
I was like, yeah, no one'sright, I got some time.
Well, I know they're coming insquare afternoon.
And so we went over after ourscouting meetings and I was
there from nine o'clock to liketwo o'clock in the morning
Because you know, the last nightI was like it's gonna be clean.
I got it, yeah, ran out.
(34:28):
I was like my, my gel frommattress topper thing didn't
come in yet and they're comingin the morning and I got to come
over here and then my then the,the guests are asking can they
check in early?
I was like, oh no, wait, yes,but no, because I had a
countertop.
My countertop installer had tocome back because he had had to
death in the family and I said,take, take some weeks, you know,
(34:49):
come back.
But he just needed to finishdrilling a hole for the soap
dispenser in the countertop,install two tiles for me in the
bathroom on the floor, thebaseboard tiles, and I was like,
if it rents before that, we cantotally do without that.
But I already said yes to himto come in to finish that.
And then this booking came inand I said, okay, well, you can
come.
But just to be full, honestdisclosure, the dishwasher I
(35:12):
just discovered and the part isin route, but we'll have to
coordinate about that and Ihaven't seen the dishwasher and
I don't know what to do aboutthat.
And I have installed.
It's going to be there to 130.
I was like, but more thanwelcome if you want to come drop
off bags.
You know, his name is Vince,I'll be there, but I have to
leave, like whatever.
Anyway, worked out, they came.
I was actually there at theproperty when they showed up.
(35:33):
I was able to give them a tourand they ended up being the
sweetest friends ever my firstbooking nurses from texas, and
the one who did the booking isshe.
They were both praising thecondo and how it looked and she
said she goes.
Oh, I just feel like we weremeant for each other and I was
(35:54):
like oh, you've just opened myheart.
You guys.
Everything looks beautiful andI said you well, at that point I
admitted you are my first guest, so please let me know if
anything's missing.
I wanna make it homey and cozyfor you and Debbie.
I've been loving it.
The community I think there aresuch good guests in the
communication back and forth hasbeen wonderful and I'm loving
(36:19):
this hosting thing so far.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I know, when I first started, that's how I felt too.
I was like I'm surprisinglyloving it, Like I didn't realize
I would love it as much as I do.
I love it.
I love it so much.
And what I found is the moretransparent I am with people.
There's like people are veryforgiving.
(36:42):
They're like they would ratherknow look, here's what's
happening.
I'm like Stuff happens.
It's a house.
Stuff happens.
Things will break, but I'mfixing it Right.
They just want to know.
They just want to be in theconversation.
It's interesting because mostpeople who walk in the door I'll
(37:07):
get a text immediately sayingoh my gosh, we've gone into lots
of furnished rentals andthey're never like what they
seem in the pictures.
This place is even better.
And it's like yes, that'sexactly what we want.
Because there is a lot of stuffout there where you walk in and
(37:27):
you're like this isn't at allwhat it was like on the online
and then to think that you'restuck in that for a month or two
months or three months, that'sterrifying.
So I get that people want to belike is it really like that?
Is it really like what you'resaying?
Yeah, but yeah, transparencyand just being honest yeah,
(37:50):
that's all you can do.
It's all you can do.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
No, it's so true, and that's what I was trying to be,
because I was like I can't hidethis.
I mean, they're going to getthere, they're going to know
about it anyway, so let's notstay right away, right?
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Don't make it weird.
I'm glad you love it.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
Yes, it's awesome.
I want to do it again.
I want to do both.
I want to get another.
I said honey.
The next one I want to get issomewhere where we want a
vacation.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
That's what I do.
Yes, those, those are awesome.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Yeah, Now where do we want a vacation?
Right, but exactly.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
If you had to name two of your biggest lessons
learned on this project, whatwould you say they were?
Speaker 3 (38:41):
Trust yourself.
Trust and believe in yourself.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Big.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
But verify.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Trust but verify.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
And I guess because I didn't verify one little detail
and it cost me.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
That's good, that's good Trust, but verify.
Nice.
Thanks for being here, thanksfor being a giver, thanks for
being in our community and beingan awesome flip sister.
We appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
I love it, I love every second of it and I say my
weekly Debbie dose.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
I love it.
I love it.
I'll let you go.
I know, I know I'm overdue.
All right, I would sit here andtalk to you forever, but I know
we got to go.
Same, I know we got to go life.
I'll see you in the group.
Bye, bye, thanks again,elizabeth.
Thank you again, elizabeth, forsharing your story with us.
You did it, you freaking did it.
(39:37):
Now, listeners, if you aren'tdoing it and you want to be
doing it, that is exactly whatwe do.
Whether you want to flip tosell or flip to rent or both,
that's exactly what we do.
We teach you how to do that, weteach you all the steps, we
walk you through all the steps,we hold your hand while you do
(39:57):
all the steps and we support theheck out of you in our
community Number one community,by far Number one program doing
what we do.
So if you are still sitting onthe fence and you don't want to
be sitting on the fence anymore,but you're scared, that's
totally normal Go toherfirstflipcom and book a call
(40:19):
with our team.
All right, let's see how we canwork together.
All right, until next time, goout there, flip houses like a
girl, leave people and placesbetter than you find them and
make it a great day.
Bye, y'all.
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 delivers honest togoodness tools, tips and
(00:21):
strategies you can implementtoday to get closer to your
first or next successful houseflip.
Here's your spiky-hairedbreakfast taco-loving host.
House flipping coach DebbieDePiri.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hey, thanks for hanging out with me today.
You're gonna love thisinterview.
I know I say that every time,but it's true.
So today's episode is all aboutElizabeth in California and her
first furnished rental, whichshe is doing as a midterm rental
, which, if you don't know whata midterm rental is and how it
(01:04):
differs from a short-term rental, let me do a little bit of
teaching right now.
So a short-term rental istypically anything less than 29
days.
It's usually a weekend, it'susually a few days, maybe a
couple weeks, but it'stechnically classified as fewer
than 29 days.
(01:25):
A midterm rental is 30 days ormore, and typically it's 30 days
, maybe three months, maybe upto six months, and then anything
beyond that really isconsidered your traditional
long-term rental.
So midterm rentals are abeautiful sweet spot that I've
(01:47):
been talking about for yearsthat is still not as well known,
especially as short-termrentals.
So it's more of a sleepercategory of furnished rentals.
It's definitely grown recentlyand the reason why is because a
(02:10):
midterm rental is basically yourworkaround to wanting a
furnished rental in an area thatmaybe it's really highly
regulated.
So short-term rentals aren'tactually allowed.
The rules around short-termrentals are different in every
(02:30):
city, so one city it might bethat short-term rentals are only
allowed if it's anowner-occupied property, or it
might be that there are athousand short-term rental
permits only.
Or it might be that you can'thave another short-term rental
(02:51):
property.
There can't be another permitwithin 50 feet of your property.
Like I said, the rules andregulations can look many
different ways.
The point is a lot of peoplebecause of the tight regulations
, the workaround is having afurnished rental but requiring
(03:12):
30-night bookings or greater.
So that is a workaround.
Another reason why people likethe midterm market better reason
being I have found that I cancompare.
I can run a property as ashort-term rental and as a
midterm rental, and short-termrentals typically have way more
(03:34):
expenses.
So I've got more cleaningexpenses, I've got more wear and
tear.
I've just got more expenses ona short-term rental.
If that same property is usedas a midterm rental instead,
there's a lot less wear and tear, fewer groups coming in and out
.
So at the end of the day theycould be even, or the midterm
(03:58):
rental actually oftenoutperforms.
It really just depends on themarket.
Obviously, a beach marketshort-term rentals are fantastic
.
Or a really cool destinationproperty Maybe it's secluded,
maybe it's on the lake those areclear short-term rentals.
But if you've got travelingnurses or traveling
(04:22):
professionals, anything likethat where people come in and
hang out for a while for a month, two months, three months or
people are relocating a lotnomads, people who are remote
workers, who can work fromwherever they want to be and
they want to escape the heat ofAustin, texas, like I am, and
(04:42):
I'm in Santa Fe right now in mynewly listed midterm rental so
it's a different kind of market,it's a different category of
furnished rentals and I lovethem.
So now that we'vedifferentiated between midterm
rentals and short-term rentals,let's get into this conversation
with Elizabeth.
(05:02):
She's going to walk us throughher first furnished rental flip.
Let us know who you are andwhere you are, what you're up to
and any other little backgroundinformation you want to.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Okay, so my name is Elizabeth, I am in Modesto,
california, and what a littlebit about me is.
I am a mother and I like tothink of myself as a giver, and
I learned a long time ago, backwhen I graduated college and I
(05:38):
took my first job, that I willnever, ever do something to earn
money, just to earn money.
This is my first position.
I went to school for fine artand graphic design and art
history minor.
Oh cool.
Yeah, my dream was to make andillustrate children's books, but
(05:58):
even then I was like I know,I'm not going to do this until
after my kids whatever kids Ihave are grown and out of the
house.
I just didn't see that.
So I was like, okay, how am Igoing to still from here to
there?
Oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
It's a long time to fill.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yes, it is.
But I was like you know what Ireally enjoy?
Art.
I feel fulfilled with it and Iwant to make other people happy.
But how am I going to makemoney?
Because I know it's going totake me a long time as a fine
artist to figure that out.
And I got my first job as agraphic designer.
I was like, hey, I can putbread on the table for that.
And I realized very quickly Ihate it.
(06:32):
I hate it.
Oh, working at the computer,you know, meeting those
deadlines.
And then I was like I'm notimpacting people and I felt that
.
And my roommate at the time wasa recreational therapist and
she'd come home with thesefilling, these stories of just
how she touched her resident'sheart every single day.
(06:56):
I was like I want to do that.
So I had moved from centralPennsylvania up to Long Island,
was commuting into Manhattanthat's where we lived and so
within three and a half monthsof realizing you know, I was
crying every day into work,crying on the train on the way
home, and it was like it wasn'tfor me.
(07:16):
But I had.
I know I had to go through thatto know that I didn't miss it.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
So I can move back home, got an assistant physician
as a rec therapist, loved it.
I was like I'm soul searching.
And I soul searched and said,okay, I don't want to do this as
a career, but you know, what Ireally like over here is fitness
.
It's embodying me.
I like to be fit and theretirement community I was
working for was building thishuge, whole new fitness center
(07:50):
Olympic sized swimming pools,heating up all the things, and
they're going to be hiring allthe stuff.
So I went to the director ofthat department and I said I
want to be here.
I said what do I need to do tobe here?
So she told me and we had tonegotiate with my boss and the
data for me to transfer.
So, anyway, work my way up tobe in charge of the fitness
department thereafter a coupleof years and manage people there
(08:11):
and then was like, okay, I'mgrown here, I want to learn a
different aspect.
So I went to the private gymsector after that and in the
meantime I had my first son andI went back after having I left
this wonderful nurturingenvironment, for residents were
crocheting me blind.
I mean it was.
It was the most.
(08:32):
I mean gosh, you walked awayevery day feeling you've touched
somebody's life and they don't.
I don't know if they realizedhow much I got from them as well
.
That's what I learned that ageis a mind sense.
I was like it's all in yourmind to see these 80 year olds
pretending to run on the pooldeck and ball into the deep bed
(08:54):
and I'm like, oh my God, life'sburning on.
Oh no, no, running on the pooldeck.
You know they're like, oh, Imean.
And then people in wheelchairs.
They couldn't do hardlyanything to themselves, still
coming out when I was inactivities going and I'm like I
remember asking this one lady islike, how do you do it?
She goes what else am I goingto do?
Why be miserable on my lasttime on earth?
(09:16):
I might as well enjoy what Ihave, and this is why I like
coming out and doing things withyou.
I was like, oh, okay.
And I was like, wow, her namewas Sylvia and I still remember
her all these years, 23, fiveyears later, I'm like who was my
, my aha being a mindset.
(09:37):
So then, through that, I wentthrough the private gym sector
and managed that for a while,had baby one, baby two.
I decided I'm stepping backbecause I like to give my all to
what I'm doing and I didn'twant to feel split between my
children.
And so we made that change andI became a state home mom for
(09:57):
like the next 12 years and thatwas wonderful.
I mean wonderful I could giveto my kids.
I was, you know, I'm stillvolunteering.
I'm sorry, I'm doing everythingI was before plus now raising
my babies.
You know we ended up havingthree being there for them in
their schools, doing, you know,being involved in their
activities, doing girl scouttowards gouts, all the stuff,
(10:19):
right, all the things.
And then pandemic came.
You know we're in the gymbusiness and those got shut down
, with California opening andthen closing, and then we open
and we close.
That's not a lot of I don'tknow.
A lot of people don't realizehow much is involved with even
(10:42):
shutting down a bit.
You think, oh, you just shutthe doors, oh no, from one that
is 24 hours, seven days a week,to then figure out how am I
going to close this?
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Establishing procedures and reopening and
financial commitment that isinvolved in that.
So it became, you know, scarybecause it opens and floats.
And then we're like, is itgoing to open again?
Is the governor going to letthis happen?
So we're sitting here, I'mdoing like this, things are
going on longer and longer andI'm going oh my gosh, I was like
(11:14):
you know what?
I felt like I needed to dosomething.
I was like I've had such aprivilege and a gift for my
husband.
He was always so supportive andhe's like always believe what I
was doing at home wasabsolutely essential.
It let him do what he needed todo.
He goes raising good childrenand we're a team, you know,
(11:35):
whatever.
So I was like I need to dosomething, because when we go
back, things are gonna open, butI'm not sure what it's gonna
look like and I don't wanna sayno to my kids.
You can't do this because wedon't pay for it.
So that was my ultimatemotivation.
My friend owned a cleaningbusiness.
Oh, okay, I reached out to herand said hey, you know, you've
(11:58):
said a few times that you know,you don't know who you wanna
hire.
You know, bring other peopleinto other people's homes and
trust them because she reallytook that vulnerability.
People was opening their homesand letting you in.
She took that very seriouslyand she like wanna hire.
So I reached out and said hey,you need some help, I'm here.
And quickly after that, youknow, a few months later, she
(12:22):
said hey, we're moving toOklahoma.
And I was like what?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Oh, good grief.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Yeah.
But she said, through soulsearching and prayer, she said
would you like to take over this?
She's like I'm struggling, Idon't wanna just hand it over to
some bigger company.
They're just gonna raise theirrates and they're not gonna
really care about theseindividuals.
So we worked it out and I tookover the cleaning business when
(12:48):
she left and so I said, okay,this will allow me to say yes to
my kids, no matter what.
I was like you know, whateverhappens, and so things reopen.
You know things going back on.
And I was like you know whatAlso through all this, you know,
like a year later, half a yearlater.
So I realized I was like youknow what?
What do I really wanna do If Iwas gonna go back?
(13:13):
I was like I could expand thisbusiness and make it multiple.
I was like within a year, Icould have hired help.
You know, I mean, everybodykept their cleaner during the
pandemic.
I didn't know anybody thatcanceled their cleaner, right?
Yep, yeah, I'm wearing masksand gloves going to people's
homes.
And we still worked it out.
So I then said, huh, the wholetypical thing HGGB you're
(13:38):
looking at, I always for yearsbuying my own house years ago.
Whatever, I would still checkin, probably weekly Red Van
Zillow, oh, what's going on hereBecause we're crazy and we are
obsessed with houses, yes, yes.
So I then was like producingpodcasts and I saw your little
(14:00):
logo and I was like, huh, whatkind of girl, what's this?
And I was like I mean, I wassold after the first one, but I
listened to a few more episodesand I remember coming home and
being like to my husband do youknow, have you ever heard about
hard money?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And he's like what I was, like we could do this.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
I was like that when I heard that episode about and
you talked about hard money, mymind was blown.
I stopped and rewound it.
I was like wait, wait, wait,wait, wait.
Did I hear this again?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
What is this wacky business she's talking about?
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Yes.
So I then was like, okay, didthe interest call and, yeah,
talked it out a little bit andyeah, there I am, I joined.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I love it and oh wait .
So I wanted to ask, I'm justcurious, you were in the
Northeast, what took you toCalifornia?
The gym business?
Speaker 3 (15:01):
The gym business.
Yeah, it moved.
The people we work with movedfrom.
They moved their businesslocation from the East Coast to
the West.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Okay, so let's talk about your first project.
Okay, so you just recently,within the last few weeks,
listed your first midterm rentalright, your first furnished
rental.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yes, yes, this is my very, very, very, very first
thing.
So my longterm goal was to flipa few houses but also attain
some properties for holding forlongterm purposes and thinking
online retirement and helpingout with that.
So I've been walking let's see.
(15:54):
Well, you start with the teamand then I started walking
properties with my realtor andconstruction gentlemen who would
help give me ideas and hone inif I'm offer on with estimations
, and we all three of us, so myconstruction and my realtor and
(16:15):
I.
I found this on the MLS.
Okay, I said, hey, let's gocheck this out.
And I just had this like feeling.
I'm like you're the littlecondo with the two bedroom, one
bath condo, and I rememberwalking into the courtyard of
where it is.
It's one of like three condocomplexes and they're they're
(16:38):
each kind of separate propertiesa little bit, and mine, of
course, is in the cutest condomenu.
It's got like, of course, brick, you know, exposed brick in the
black right on the fire andsenses, and it's a.
It's a half a mile barely froma hospital that's one of the big
hospitals in in my city, nice.
(17:00):
I walked in the courtyard and Ijust had this.
It just came over me likefeeling it just like, started
from my head and just dresseditself all the way down my toes
and I stopped and I looked atthe court year and I went, oh,
this is so cute and peaceful andquiet.
(17:23):
And then I thought I would livehere and this is my thought.
And I thought, whoa, I heardthat and I went, yeah, if I was
a single, my goal to go towardsmedical professionals I was a
single nurse or female doctorLike this is pretty good.
And I walked inside and wetoured it.
(17:44):
My contract was like you don'tneed to do anything this place.
I'm like, oh, no, it really wasas we talked about it, was it?
Definitely I could have justtaken it and just paint
everything and just had someonemove into it, right, and I would
have rented it for market valueand it would have paid for
(18:04):
itself Broken, even honestly,it's that kind of condition.
But I was like, no, I want todo this through the traveling
professional and the price pointfor that is going to demand a
little bit nicer, because if Iwas coming in here and and
paying for this, you know I'dwant it to be a nice way.
Yeah, so we're standing theretalking about it in my real
(18:28):
estate agent and we're talkingnumbers and, like you, know,
worst case scenario if it'sdoesn't read as a furnished
place what I could do with it.
And she's like this would work.
And I was like you really thinkso and you know I already kind
of run some numbers.
But I'll be honest, the rentalside, I'm a little more.
(18:51):
I wasn't so sure at that pointreally and I didn't quite
understand everything and I'mstill learning, yeah.
But I in my gut I was like, ohheck, no, I think this is going
to work and I just knew it.
I think, even if the worst casewith the HOA fees, it's going
to work, yeah.
And so I said, okay, let's doit.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
So were you open to when you were out looking?
Were you open to either onethat came up like were you open
to a flip or a rental, or wereyou just looking for a rental at
this point or what?
What was your process, kind ofwhatever.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
I wanted to flip.
Honestly and in the ideal worldI was, I wanted to do a flip so
then I could use the funds fromthat to fund purchasing a
rental.
But in the back of my mind Ialso knew I have funds to do one
rental purchase and then afterthat what it either that or do
now fund a rehab up to a certaindegree for flip.
(19:53):
So I had reserved, and so atthat point I said, okay, the
money's presenting itself, Ihaven't found a flip that's
appropriate yet, but this rentalwill work.
And so we did.
I went home and I said, honey,he's like, go for it.
You know he was all verysupportive and so I put an offer
(20:16):
in that what the house alreadyhad an offer or the condo
already had an offer.
But it ended up being that myreal estate agent, the person
who had the office in her office, her, it was a friend real
estate agent in there, so theywork in the same brokerage and
(20:37):
so they talked and she said Iknow him and she goes, if you
just come in even just a tinybit higher, he's going to
probably choose you.
And plus, I was doing a hardmoney loan.
That's what I figured I wasgoing to do right and then
refinance or something.
And I'm talking to my hardmoney lender through all this
(20:59):
and he's assuring me right, andso we put in the offer, and so
we're up to the point of provingfunds, I guess.
And we get more nitpicky withthe hard money guy and he was
telling me I was like, cool, Ican do this a little higher than
(21:20):
normal.
But you know, it's cool, beeasy, I can still do this.
And then he sent it to hisunderwriter, like God.
He sent me a screen checkbecause this is what the
underwriter said I'm like and Iwent what.
Like I got mad.
I was like no, I was like thisis no.
(21:42):
The interest rate went way up.
I guess I was still learningabout arms and all these things.
I was like I can't, even if Ifind a better deal the interest
rate I can't do prepaint, Ican't do prepayments, I'll have
penalties.
And I was like my, I was justmad and I was like no, I can do
(22:03):
better.
Yeah, so I made a call to afriend.
This was a what day?
This was like a Friday.
I was like I don't have time totalk to her about this.
She's busy doing her thing, I'mbusy doing my thing.
So come like Monday and thenTuesday passes.
(22:26):
And I was just like, okay,whatever.
So we ended up connectingTuesday and I said this is a
situation I'm paying skyrocketinterest and being locked into
something that I just don't feelcomfortable and if I drop out
of someone, lose my earnestmoney and which, okay, fine, I'm
going to lose it.
But anyway, she said, yeah, wecan make this happen.
(22:47):
I said, really, and this isgoing conventional.
And I said, are you sure?
Because this is my timeframe,I'm signed up, I'm under
contract and I got a show proofof funds and this is going to be
done in 21 days.
And she's like, yep, she goes,I've closed sooner than that.
I was like, as a conventional,she goes yes, as long as
everything's good.
And so we went through thatprocess, but the whole time
(23:08):
because showing proof of incomeand because my husband's an
independent contractor, you know, every time I had communication
it was more stuff I had to showfrom self and my stomach is
just turning.
And then huge knots.
I had some freak out momentswhere I'd be panicking Seriously
(23:29):
, like a panic attack like thisisn't going to work.
Oh my gosh, like I know we canafford it, but oh my gosh, I had
to at one point rememberstopping and I was sitting on my
fireplace hearse, I saidbreathe, I'm going through my
papers and I was like breathe.
I was like and I said I waslike channel Debbie.
(23:50):
I said what would Debbie do?
I said she'd say this is theproblem.
You're going to come up with asolution.
That's do you need to get tothat solution?
I love it.
She said don't make a decisionwhen you're so freaking out.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Basically, yes, you listen.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
What is it?
I stopped and I breathed forlike a minute or two.
I said, ok, now listen to yourbody.
Ok, your stomach is calmer,you're not having this tightness
in your chest anymore.
Yeah, and I was like, ok,you're now going to find this
paperwork that you need andyou're going to fax it over.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Oh my gosh, I love that and everything.
Ok, it all worked out.
So did you borrow money, enoughmoney, for the purchase and
then you used your own cash forthe renovations, or what did you
do?
Speaker 3 (24:58):
I did just the purchase.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
OK, so how much did you end up putting into updating
the property?
Because I would imagine youdidn't like renovate.
Did you you more updated, or OK?
Speaker 3 (25:14):
So I would say it's an update, but there are some
lessons learned in that anddefinitely cost more than what
it should have.
Ok, let's talk about those.
Let's talk about the lessons.
So I entered this project as akind of grace.
Well, I was like, ok, it's kindof smaller and I know it's
(25:35):
still going to cost money, butit's also a test.
This is me testing my team,it's me testing myself how are
we going to work this out?
And I knew I was like I'm goingto learn things on here what I
like, what I don't like to doand do the people that I'm
connected with.
Are they going to do what Ithink they're going to do?
Yes, Yep.
So through that I figured I waslike, ultimately I allowed
(26:02):
myself two months to do thisproject, to get it renovated and
furnished, but secretly I waspushing for 30 days.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
When did you close on the purchase?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
So it got recorded on the 25th of October.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
And what did you pay for it?
I forgot to ask.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
It was $221,000.
Ok, ok, and I put it Go ahead,go for it.
Down payment of $55,000.
Ok.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
And OK, so you go into it.
You have a silent goal of 30days, a spoken goal of 60 days.
How did all that go?
Oh, and what was your budgetgoing into it, were you thinking
?
Speaker 3 (26:50):
I was figuring about $10,000 to furnish and supply
everything for a full furnishedplace, and I was thinking
between $10,000 and $12,000 forrenovation costs for what I
wanted to do to it.
Ok, do you want me to tell youwhat it ended up being?
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Yes, because you kind of led with that with your
laughter.
So I'm curious what actuallyhappened.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
OK.
So with some of the laboringoupses that brought me up to
$27,600 roughly.
Ok.
So I went over about $5,000,$5,000, $6,000.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Oh for the total for everything it was $27,000.
Yeah, oh, for the furniture too.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Yes, oh, that's not bad.
It's not bad, no, but if Ididn't have my labor oupses I
could have been right on target.
Those were learning lessons Tome.
I kicked my butt in that, but Ialso was grateful for the
learning experiences and,knowing that something, I kind
(28:00):
of walked in going something'sgoing to happen and I don't know
what it is.
Yeah, and so I was prepared andnot really.
When something did happen, Ireally.
My husband was like are youupset?
I was like, no, actually, I'mkind of like it proved me right.
I'm trusty with my instinctsand I'm just going to go with it
.
I can't cry over this right nowbecause it's not going to do
anything.
(28:21):
So now I'm pivoting and turning.
I quickly got it fixed, but itcost me money to do it and I
walked in this project thinkingI was going to do some things
that I wanted to paint.
I wanted to paint the condo andI've done all my own houses
before and I wanted to tile thebacksplashes in the kitchen and
(28:41):
the bathroom.
But I was trying to take somepaint off the bathroom tub.
They had painted just theexterior wall of it, not the
inside them, and I couldn't getit off.
So I ended up calling thegentleman who had painted my
exterior of my current home overand I said do you refinished
(29:03):
tubs?
And it quickly went fromrefinishing tubs to painting my
cabinets, to painting that wholegosh darn condo, I said,
because he gave me such a goodprice for the tub.
I quickly realized.
Then too, I was like this isgoing to save me so much time.
And, what's more important, youwere right there in my ear,
right here, like buzzing realloud what is more important to
(29:24):
me.
I was like I'm doing thisbecause I want time, freedom and
spending this extra money whichI did not budget for that.
Ok, I was like, no, this isgood, I've just learned a lesson
.
Ok, I learned a lesson.
Now I know for next time.
When it came right down to it,I didn't want to do that, so I'm
hired.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Isn't that an awesome awareness to have, though,
right, and if you did want to doit, awesome and you did it,
great.
But you realize, actually Idon't really want to and I kind
of just want to hire it and getit done and be done with it and
that's OK.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Yes, yes, and I realized too, because doing the
house colors and all that, Ihave a friend who helped me, a
designer, when I was refinishingmy kitchen.
She helped me.
I came in with a big, broadidea and she helped me narrow it
down.
So I called her right at theback I said when can you come
over?
I need you to pick house colors.
And I used words because I hadthought about what I tell her is
(30:19):
going to.
She doesn't feel and think likethe way I do, right, but I need
to tell her words so I can getthe result I want out.
So I was very particular in thewords that I used and
describing how I want the placeto feel.
And so within that console shewhipped up some colors.
I was like, oh, you don't thinkthat's too dark.
She's like, no, did it get allthis kind of stuff?
(30:40):
I said, ok, you know what, I'mtrusting you.
Yeah, I'm trusting you.
You just tell me what colors,what sheens.
And that helped tremendouslybecause for me to choose colors
and tile in my own kitchen tookme weeks.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
I'm loving how much I'm hearing you leaning on other
people and what they are goodat.
Yes, that's impressive, becausea lot of people I don't want to
make that phone call.
I don't want to do that.
I don't want to.
No, make the phone calls,that's what they do.
They're really good at that.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Use your people and, I'll be honest, I still struggle
with that.
Calling her was easy becauseI've dealt with her before.
Yeah, calling my painter waseasy because I've dealt with him
before my contractor.
Starting out with him waspretty easy because I knew him
through other volunteerorganizations.
That feel pretty easy.
(31:33):
The first time I called a hardmoney lender I was I was
sweating under my armpits, likemy house is cold and I'm shaking
, I'm sweating, okay, but Ihadn't dealt with them before
and I'll be honest, the wholeeven right now Going forward
when I get my first flip, that'sgonna be a whole other ballgame
(31:55):
of stuff that I don't know andI'm gonna have to go through and
it's still scary Like I amscared right now, but I'm
prepping up.
I've started doing a little bitmore research.
I was like, okay, I've got thismidterm thing.
I still got to do some work onadvertising it and getting this
rolling, but it's doing greatright now.
But now I start shifting focusand get out there and do what
(32:16):
you.
You need to do the slip,because you need to prove to
yourself that you can do it,follow through and Because
there's a big thing here too.
I also learned to trust myselfin this process being.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
You know what you're doing I was like trust yourself,
but that's what it all comesdown.
It all every single time.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
It always comes back to it, and that's a big thing,
you know, because there's a lot,a lot of voices in there that
are like pushing out yeah forsure, and You're preparing for
the worst one.
Really, it's probably not gonnahappen, and probably not.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
And if and if it does , you're prepared, you can, you
can pivot, yeah, so okay.
So you got it All donerenovated, updated, furnished,
listed it for rent.
Did you get some bookings?
(33:12):
Yeah, okay, so I that's themost exciting thing ever when
you get your first booking on aproperty.
It was exciting and absolutelyterrifying.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
And Both and yes.
And I was like, oh my gosh,this is real.
And so I started jumping up anddown, I started crying and then
I went.
I was like I'm living this, butI was like, oh my gosh, no.
I called my husband.
He said what is it happening?
I said tomorrow.
He said tomorrow.
I said yes, he goes, that meanswe have to go over there
(33:44):
tonight and finish.
I said yes Because what happens?
As we were putting everythingback together?
You know we had testedeverything.
But I was like you know, I'venever actually run the
dishwasher through a whole cycleCovered, the dishwasher was
turning on and it sounded good,but it wasn't having water
coming in.
So we had had a repairpersonnel already.
We were waiting for the part,but we left the dishwasher open.
The cabinet doors were off, youknow, things were, and there
(34:06):
were some other things.
I was like, yeah, no one'sright, I got some time.
Well, I know they're coming insquare afternoon.
And so we went over after ourscouting meetings and I was
there from nine o'clock to liketwo o'clock in the morning
Because you know, the last nightI was like it's gonna be clean.
I got it, yeah, ran out.
(34:28):
I was like my, my gel frommattress topper thing didn't
come in yet and they're comingin the morning and I got to come
over here and then my then the,the guests are asking can they
check in early?
I was like, oh no, wait, yes,but no, because I had a
countertop.
My countertop installer had tocome back because he had had to
death in the family and I said,take, take some weeks, you know,
(34:49):
come back.
But he just needed to finishdrilling a hole for the soap
dispenser in the countertop,install two tiles for me in the
bathroom on the floor, thebaseboard tiles, and I was like,
if it rents before that, we cantotally do without that.
But I already said yes to himto come in to finish that.
And then this booking came inand I said, okay, well, you can
come.
But just to be full, honestdisclosure, the dishwasher I
(35:12):
just discovered and the part isin route, but we'll have to
coordinate about that and Ihaven't seen the dishwasher and
I don't know what to do aboutthat.
And I have installed.
It's going to be there to 130.
I was like, but more thanwelcome if you want to come drop
off bags.
You know, his name is Vince,I'll be there, but I have to
leave, like whatever.
Anyway, worked out, they came.
I was actually there at theproperty when they showed up.
(35:33):
I was able to give them a tourand they ended up being the
sweetest friends ever my firstbooking nurses from texas, and
the one who did the booking isshe.
They were both praising thecondo and how it looked and she
said she goes.
Oh, I just feel like we weremeant for each other and I was
(35:54):
like oh, you've just opened myheart.
You guys.
Everything looks beautiful andI said you well, at that point I
admitted you are my first guest, so please let me know if
anything's missing.
I wanna make it homey and cozyfor you and Debbie.
I've been loving it.
The community I think there aresuch good guests in the
communication back and forth hasbeen wonderful and I'm loving
(36:19):
this hosting thing so far.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I know, when I first started, that's how I felt too.
I was like I'm surprisinglyloving it, Like I didn't realize
I would love it as much as I do.
I love it.
I love it so much.
And what I found is the moretransparent I am with people.
There's like people are veryforgiving.
(36:42):
They're like they would ratherknow look, here's what's
happening.
I'm like Stuff happens.
It's a house.
Stuff happens.
Things will break, but I'mfixing it Right.
They just want to know.
They just want to be in theconversation.
It's interesting because mostpeople who walk in the door I'll
(37:07):
get a text immediately sayingoh my gosh, we've gone into lots
of furnished rentals andthey're never like what they
seem in the pictures.
This place is even better.
And it's like yes, that'sexactly what we want.
Because there is a lot of stuffout there where you walk in and
(37:27):
you're like this isn't at allwhat it was like on the online
and then to think that you'restuck in that for a month or two
months or three months, that'sterrifying.
So I get that people want to belike is it really like that?
Is it really like what you'resaying?
Yeah, but yeah, transparencyand just being honest yeah,
(37:50):
that's all you can do.
It's all you can do.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
No, it's so true, and that's what I was trying to be,
because I was like I can't hidethis.
I mean, they're going to getthere, they're going to know
about it anyway, so let's notstay right away, right?
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Don't make it weird.
I'm glad you love it.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
Yes, it's awesome.
I want to do it again.
I want to do both.
I want to get another.
I said honey.
The next one I want to get issomewhere where we want a
vacation.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
That's what I do.
Yes, those, those are awesome.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Yeah, Now where do we want a vacation?
Right, but exactly.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
If you had to name two of your biggest lessons
learned on this project, whatwould you say they were?
Speaker 3 (38:41):
Trust yourself.
Trust and believe in yourself.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Big.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
But verify.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Trust but verify.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
And I guess because I didn't verify one little detail
and it cost me.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
That's good, that's good Trust, but verify.
Nice.
Thanks for being here, thanksfor being a giver, thanks for
being in our community and beingan awesome flip sister.
We appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
I love it, I love every second of it and I say my
weekly Debbie dose.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
I love it.
I love it.
I'll let you go.
I know, I know I'm overdue.
All right, I would sit here andtalk to you forever, but I know
we got to go.
Same, I know we got to go life.
I'll see you in the group.
Bye, bye, thanks again,elizabeth.
Thank you again, elizabeth, forsharing your story with us.
You did it, you freaking did it.
(39:37):
Now, listeners, if you aren'tdoing it and you want to be
doing it, that is exactly whatwe do.
Whether you want to flip tosell or flip to rent or both,
that's exactly what we do.
We teach you how to do that, weteach you all the steps, we
walk you through all the steps,we hold your hand while you do
(39:57):
all the steps and we support theheck out of you in our
community Number one community,by far Number one program doing
what we do.
So if you are still sitting onthe fence and you don't want to
be sitting on the fence anymore,but you're scared, that's
totally normal Go toherfirstflipcom and book a call
(40:19):
with our team.
All right, let's see how we canwork together.
All right, until next time, goout there, flip houses like a
girl, leave people and placesbetter than you find them and
make it a great day.
Bye, y'all.
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