My flip has been listed since November 12, 2014. On December 23rd I got an offer. The house is listed for $444, 900. The offer was for $425,000. I countered at $430,000 because that is the lowest price I want to sell for. We settled on $426,500 after my realtor twisted my arm a bit.....but on one condition. I told my realtor to make sure that after the inspection they don't dare ask me for a price reduction. Nothing burns my ass more than that. I hate it. I don't care if the inspector says the house is going to fall down within the next 24 hours, I am not dropping the price by another penny!
So the inspection was on January 2, 2015 and guess what? They asked for a price reduction. Was my last statement not in English? I said I am not dropping the price by another penny and that is what I meant. So I let the deal fall through because I refuse to sell for less. The inspector found the house to be void of insulation. No shit. It's a 100 year old home. They don't have insulation. The other issue is that the furnace is 30 years old. Yes it is....and I don't care.
I went to Florida over the holidays and came home on Tuesday January 6th. The next day I packed up my house and moved to the flip on Friday January 9th. So I now live there and I love it! In fact, I might do that from now on. It's really given me a chance to notice some small details. For example, the hot water tank is too small for a family. On the first night we ran out of hot water by the time I had to bathe my second child. I also have to add shelves to the linen closet, secure the dishwasher into place and install a kit to the stackable washer and dryer to make sure during the spin cycle the dryer doesn't get thrown off the top. Other than that, everything is awesome. I sit in that Victorian claw tub everyday. Forget showers. I am done with those. With a tub like this you must sit and soak...forget rushing.
I have decided to leave the house on the market until January 31st and if it doesn't sell I will take it off the market and re-list in the Spring. I am confident I will sell, and for the price I want, in the Spring.
In the meantime, I'm working on my double semi-detached I bought. I was planning to live in one side of that and rent the other out but instead I rented out both sides. The demand was so I high I finally had to stop showings after just 2 days and I picked 2 wonderful families as tenants. They will be moving in Feb 1st and my mortgage and taxes are covered. I am in the middle of renovating it right now but it should be done on time. It's going to look amazing.
So, my plan then, for today, is to keep my new duplex/semi as a rental, sell the flip and buy another property....a duplex I think but who knows!
