plans

we are closing on monday!!! here are the plans- before and after
(click on them to enlarge)

first floor before.............................after


second floor before.............................after


basement before.............................after

update-P+S

we signed the P+S agreement...now we are just waiting for our mortgage to go through so that we can close (most likely we will close next week)

i will post the plans soon...if i can stop changing them!

before pictures...

(click on the photos to enlarge them...for the full effect!)
kitchen:




living room:




bathroom:


upstairs bedrooms:




basement:

here we go again!

i dont have the info on the closing date...but barring any unforseen circumstance, we will be starting our 2nd flip soon (probably in a month)...here are some more pictures from mls. i will take some more "before" pix tomorrow when we have the house inspected.

that wasnt so bad!

one short negotiation period...i think it lasted 20 minutes, if that!!!

so we came to an agreement- $237,500 for the house. it is, of course, contingent on an inspection, but if all goes well we will embark on our next flip! (the sale comps are around $360K/$370K)

we are looking forward to 4 months of constant aching muscles, daily lowe's runs, and poor eating habits (i miss those dunkin donut breakfasts and peanut butter sandwich lunches!)

yay!

a counter offer!

we put an offer in on a nice little 4 bedroom/1 bathroom/full basement cape house in a nice little neighborhood.

aside from the lingering smell of urine, the house is great (or, it has great potential)

so, we actually got a counter-offer this time (instead of a straight up rejection)...which was exciting (i guess that is what happens when you are working with real people and not banks).

the house is listed at $245K and we offered $230K. they countered $240K and then we counter-countered $235K

here is the photo from MLS...isnt it cute?!

so, in addition to the basic renovations, we plan on tearing off the back roof and building up a dormer so that we can enlarge the 2nd floor bedrooms and add a 2nd full bathroom. well, that is the plan if we get the house! let's see!

39 Beverly Road- Closed

we have closed! --stay tuned for the next flip!

SIGNED P+S!!!

we signed the P+S agreement this evening...yaaaayyyy!!!!!

SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well, it is under agreement...they are giving us our asking price and the closing is on July 6th... at which time we will break out the bubbly! yippeee! (thank you st. joe!)

negotiations...

so, the potential buyer offered $5k less than our asking price, and wanted to close at the end of august. we decided that, if we were to hold the house for 2 months, then the offer needed to be for at least $5k more than the asking price. so we countered with a request for full price and a 1 month closing.

they came back with an offer that was still $5k less than asking but a closing in the beginning of July.

we were happy with the closing date, but still didnt feel good about the $$$. after all, we just dropped the price $15k. so, we held our breath and asked for full price and a 1 month closing...and that was our final offer, i think i even said 'take it or leave it'

so, the buyer, who is getting on a plane for Korea today, tentatively accepted that counteroffer and went to the house this morning for a visual inspection (not an official inspection--there was no inspector present). they ultimately decided that they would give us the full asking price and the 1 month closing, but because they didnt have a home inspector present, they want us to give them a home warranty (worth about $500) and they want us to have some tree limbs removed (worth about $1000).

we concluded that we did really mean it when we said the previous was our final offer.

now, we understand that we are not giving the buyer anything that would make them feel good about the negotiations (except for a new house in great condition) , and there is this little voice in our heads screaming "take the offer...you idiots!". but we decided that since we are going to have to carry the house another month anyway; since we just lowered the price on monday and they were the first people to see it with the new price tag; since we have another showing today and monday and an open house on sunday; that we are just going to take the risk.

who knows....i will keep you updated!

our first offer...

i have heard and read over and over again that you have to price your house right in this market or you will not sell. but how do you know what is right? i have also heard that you have to let the market price your house. the challenge with pricing this house was that there were no real comps to comp it against...nothing equivalent at the time had been rehabbed quite as much as this house.

we have received feedback from showings and a few people noted that they thought the house was priced right, and a few others said that it was overpriced...but no offers in 1 month at least indicated to us that it was time to lower the price.

so, we dropped the asking price by $15k. we went with $15k because we want to get rid of the house asap...the next step would be to make a really big "FREE" sign and post it on the front of the house. if we were really brave, we could hold an auction--a good strategy for unloading property in one day, but how scary if the high bid was really really low!

so now we received an offer... not great, but not bad. $5k less than what we are now asking---which means that it is $20k less than the original asking price. which is alot of money considering the profit margin for this flip.

so, to make myself feel better, i am thinking of that $20k as another fee that needs to be paid among the many fees that are required in a real estate transaction...let's call it a Bad-Market-Fee and move on!

are you wondering if we will still make money on the flip; absolutely. we just wont be buying that yacht any time soon.

are you wondering if we would flip again; absolutely!!! we learned so much from this one--we cant put all of that real good learnin' to waste!

OPEN HOUSE- JUNE 3rd- 12-2PM

the open house went well...we had 13 groups come through today. we are keeping our fingers crossed for an offer!

here are some current pix- we "staged" the living space with some furniture from our apartment. furniture makes a big difference!

divine intervention!

the house has been on the market for 17 days....so today we buried st. joseph!

this is our st. joseph kit that we received via the internet...
it came complete with a little st. joe, a zip lock baggie, instructions, 2 prayer options, and a keychain!




the burial plot: we were instructed to bury st. joseph in the front of the house. we chose a shady plot behind the coldwell banker sign.


we were instructed to place st. joseph in the baggie before burial--so that we can later exhume him and place him in a prominent location in our home.


the newly laid sod peeled back without too much struggle...so we dug a hole and inserted the little statue, with feet to heaven and facing the street (as we were instructed)...you can see st. joe's feet in the baggie in the bottom right corner of the grave.



a closeup:

so, scott read prayer option #1 and i read prayer option #2...i chose option #2 because it referenced my anxiety! as i was reading the prayer, my catholic guilt welled up within -- am i really praying for my house to sell, when there is so much suffering in the world!?

so i finished the prayer with an extra "the sooner you sell this house, the sooner you will get out of this hole!" scott thinks that might have doomed our sale, but i said that st. joe has to know about my sense of humor! (but maybe i should say 12 our fathers and 12 hail mary's just in case!)

here is prayer option #2...Holy St. Joseph I place myself and all of my concerns and that of my family, under your care and protection. I pray that you will look kindly on us and grant us the help we need for our spiritual and temporal wellfare. We are most anxious for a special favor in your aiding us to sell our property at -39 Beverly Rd- in -Natick-,-Ma-. We know St. Joseph, if we have your blessings on our behalf that God will hear our prayer and will make the sale of our home His Will and it will be done. Thank you St. Joseph, for responding to this prayer. Amen.

open house update...

so, we had 11 groups show up at the open house today....that is alot more than i had expected.

we are keeping our fingers crossed.

there is this huge unknown factor when flipping a house; it can sit on the market for a week or for a year...who knows what is going to happen. it is now out of our hands!

OPEN HOUSE, SUNDAY, MAY 20th

SAVE THE DATE!!!


11:00AM - 1:00 PM

before's and after's

Master Bedroom (this was a bedroom that the previous owner was using as a dining room):

before's and after's

Walk-in-closet (the old "work shop"):


Living Room:






Living Room (the old porch):






Living Room (the old porch):






Living Room (the old porch):

before's and after's

Living Room:


Living Room:


Kitchen:


Kitchen (the old entry door):


Laundry (was a linen closet):

before's and after's

view towards kitchen:


some exteriors:

before's and after's...

Bathroom:




Small Bedroom:


Big Bedroom:

another view: