Flipping Adventures

Houston Bound

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:44:00 +0000

One of my best friends is having to relocate to Houston because of her job. I am truly happy for her, although she is going to be missed tremendously. Life sometimes throws you a curve ball and you have no choice but to run after it. Needless to say, I am helping her search around online for some different Houston apartments.

She has already informed me that Houston apartments for rent are not easy to come by. She is not extremely picky, but there are things she does want, such as a good location. The first thing I am going to do is look through an Apartment Guide and see what there is available. I figure I can eliminate some of the choices and only give her a list of the ones she might consider. This will save her tons of time. I plan on her giving me a list of what she can't live without and what she doesn't really mind. This is probably the easiest way to search for her. I just hope by me doing this it will save her some time and she can focus on getting moved.

Looking for Commerical

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Have you ever thought of owning your own business? One of the key factors to make sure you have it in your budget is a location and how much that will cost you. My suggestion would be to first contact Commercial estate agents. They know their business and they know what you will need. It always helps to have someone point you in the right direction instead of figuring it out on your own. Or at least for me and my husband that has been the case.

Commercial property consultants will be happy to give you their input and suggestions on what type of location you need for your business. It's their job. I know we have put our faith and trust in them on more than one occasion. The best thing is, it has paid off each time we did so. Don't try to figure it out on your own. In our opinion, it's almost impossible.

Ever Thought of Buying Some Real Estate?

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 23 May 2009 21:49:00 +0000

Have you ever thought of buying some real estate? If so, where would be the ideal place you would like to own some? We have been tossing around the idea of some Santa Fe real estate. You don't always have to live where you own property. That kind of makes it a little fun and interesting if you ask me. I enjoy traveling and it gives us the opportunity to do just that.

Some friends of ours recently bought a Granada Nicaragua vacation rental. According to them, it was the best investment they have made while in this type of business. I know people can always stay in a Nicaragua Hotel, but what's better than owning some property if they chose to stay else where? I know we always enjoy renting places that are owned by individuals, so this means we are helping out some property owner. I guess it comes from owning property ourselved.

Lawsuits and Forms

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 23 May 2009 21:43:00 +0000

My friend and I were discussing lawsuits this morning on the telephone. Actually, we were talking more specifically about Trucking Accident Lawsuit that her company has had to deal with. She owns a trucking company and they have had some issues with their business over the past couple of months. I told about a place that she could find Legal Forms. I was really surprised she didn't know about this site already.

I informed her about how my other friend had used the site on another occasion which involved a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit. It had really helped her out with some legal matters. I'm always happy to be able to help out others with what little I know. That's why I thought about writing this on here. In the business we are in, sometimes it requires us to obtain forms that you can't always get your hands on. This site has helped us on more that one occasion. I thought it might help out you.

Costa Rica Real Estate

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Have you ever thought about owning some Costa Rica real estate? I don't find it strange at all that I have always wanted too. It is like a dream for me to be able to own a piece of property in some beautiful tropical place. I would visit it so often that it wouldn't be funny.

Just the other day a friend of mine that owns property in tons of places was talking to me on her cell as she sat at the Costa Rica country club. I was so jealous. I told her to never call me from there again, but she knew I was only joking. However, she did give me a little bit of information about Belize real estate that she found out from another person on her visit to Costa Rica. My husband and I are in the process of checking it out. It was be so awesome to finally have a dream of mine come true. But I'm not holding my breath.

Foreclosure Info

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:46:00 +0000

I'm not sure how many of you have seen what has been aired on television about foreclosure assistance. It seems that with the hard times going on today, that no one feels there is hope for them. If this is the case, then I suggest you check out a company called, You Walk Away. They have some very interesting info to share with ones about to leave their home.

Many of you may have already checked into the details on loan modification, but if you haven't then it is probably something of interest to you. Everyone should be aware and know the facts about Mortgage Loan Modification. I had a friend that tells me this has saved her from so much heartache, so if you have never heard of it, check into it.

Austin Real Estate

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:35:00 +0000

A friend of mine has been looking around at some Austin Real Estate. She plans on making a move sometime this summer, but she wants to go ahead and find something instead of waiting until the last minute. Actually, if she could make it possible, she really wants some Austin Lakefront Property.

Next week, she plans on flying out there and spending an entire week just searching for that perfect place. Although, she has been keeping her eye out on foreclosures in the area. Although, Austin Real Estate owned REO Properties are sometimes hard to come by and especially if your not in the area when something becomes available. But I wish her the best of luck, and I am sure whatever she finds will be perfect.

My Sister-in-law found a Place in NY!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:23:00 +0000

It's about time. My sister-in-law has been on a search for NYC Condo for months now. I informed of the information I found out on the Tribeca Coops for sale and she was thrilled. She got right on top of the situation and called her realtor. She was able to go see it today and she fell in love with the place. Of course, I would to if I was the one moving to the big city.

I wanted to keep all my readers posted in case others have been looking at relocating to NYC. If this might be you, then it is definitely worth your time to check out this place. She said it was the best she has seen on the market. It has the ideal location and all the attractions she is looking for. I'm sure anyone would love this place. I know I would! Can't wait to visit her!

Closing is Back on for Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:19:00 +0000

My husband finished the closet today, and the inspector was able to come out and check it. Now it looks like everything is falling back into place. Our realtor called a little bit ago and informed us we may actually get to close as scheduled on Thursday. Keep your fingers crossed. At least it passed the final inspection and everything is good to go. Now that is one less bit of pressure we have on us. I'll keep you posted!

Market is Slow for Flippers

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:14:00 +0000

I know with all of the foreclosures, you would think there would be tons of houses to flip. Actually, in our area there hasn't been a big amount. Our real estate agent says it will hit all at once. Apparently when a mortgage company or bank has a foreclosed house, then it doesn't hit the market for sale for several months down the road. All I know is if something doesn't come available to flip in the near future then we will be looking for other means of income. We don't always just buy foreclosed homes to flip. Sometimes we purchase older homes that someone is selling because they are stepping up to a bigger and newer house. But this is the same situation. Everyone is staying put. The economy has been so bad that no one wants to take the risk of buying a bigger better home for the fear of loosing their job.

The Move to New York City

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:06:00 +0000

As I mentioned in one of my earlier post, my sister-in-law is looking at different types of New York City Condos for sale. She is having to move to the city in order to keep her current job. Although it can be a hassle to pick up and move, she is actually looking forward to living there. I think I would too. I have been trying to help her and it is harder than you think to find a NYC Condo for sale.

Just today I ran across this great site that you can check it out here. You would be shocked at the Tribeca Coops for sale. This would be an ideal place for me. Now all I need to do is contact my sister-in-law and let her know about this great find. Maybe it will help her in making a decision a little quicker. I just thought if anyone else is having this issue, then you might want to check out the Tribeca Coops. I'm so jealous! I want to move there. At least I will have a place in the city I can visit now.

Still Waiting on Closing

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:00:00 +0000

We still have not closed on our last flipped house. We were scheduled to close this Thursday and now with the inspection there has been a miner set back. Turns out we are having to add a closet to one of the rooms. Go figure! A closet! I know some inspections can be tough ones, and if it was some type of hazard then I would understand. But what in the world does a closet have to do with anything? Needless to say, my husband is at the house working today on this closet. I wish he could get it finished, and they would be able to inspect it tomorrow so that we could continue with closing on Thursday. But it's not looking promising. I am sure it won't happen until next week. Oh well, guess I should complain as long as it sells.

NYC Real Estate

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:46:00 +0000

My sister-in-law has been looking into Luxury Apartments in New York. She lives in New York, but is in the process of moving to the city because of her current job. She has been having the hardest problem trying to find NYC Real Estate that was ideal for her. I started searching so that I could help her and ran across and great link.

If you have been looking for NYC Condos then this is your one stop place to find anything you can imagine. She can now rest assured she is going to find something after checking out this site. Not to mention, this place is right in the middle of all the action. It is called The Centurion and has everything right at your fingertips. Now when I want to go shopping, I can visit her and be just a short walk from all the entertainment and stores I could ever possibly want to visit. This has not only benefited her, but it has made me want to move there. I love to share info when I find great sites! I hope you find this as informative as she did.

Costa Rica Real Estate

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Over the past couple of months, my husband and I have been investigating flipping houses in other areas. We feel that this might be to our advantage and have been giving it some serious thoughts. Actually, we have been looking at some Costa Rica Real Estate. It seems property there is inexpensive and the market in Costa Rica is doing great. If you think about it, then what would be better than purchasing some vacation property and flipping it to make money from every time you rent it out? Or even better, buy a house to flip and then sell it to retirees that are always moving to this area. We realize there are going to be lots of research on codes and rules for flipping a house in another location, and a lawyer will do all of the title search work for us, but this would be a property we could benefit from for years to come.

The first thing we started looking for was Homes for sale in Costa Rica. Before you go any further, you want to find out what is available, and if there are any good deals worth your time. We had a good feeling about this idea and were not surprised when we ran across property for sale in Guanacaste. We found several properties for under $100,000! Can you believe that? For that kind of price, we would probably purchase it, flip it and then keep it for rental. That way, we would visit the area ourselves whenever we wanted to take a vacation or get away from the cold winter weather. Now the decision comes down to what we want to buy. A condo or a house? Either way, this seems to be a deal of a lifetime!

Contract on House

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:37:00 +0000

Usually I don't count my chickens before they hatch, but I'm excited to say we have a contract on the latest house we just posted. We are suppose to close before the end of the month. I suppose one of the reasons I am so excited is because of the situation the housing market is in right now. It's always a good thing to sell a house, but it's even better to sell one the way the economy is in at the present time. Like I said, I don't want to count on it until it's a done deal. But the clients have been approved for the loan and now they are starting inspections. So, that's a good sign! My husband has took a little break from flipping, but I can tell he is anxiously awaiting his next one to start.

Finished Another Flip

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:07:00 +0000

Here are a couple pictures of before and after of a house my husband just finished. I thought we had more inside before shots but can't locate them right at the moment. I will keep searching and post them later on if I find them. We purchased this house for $17,000 and put about $3000 to $4000 in it. We are listing it for $54,000. It is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home with a fenced in back yard. Hope you enjoy and keep returning for more!!!

House is ready for the market!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:14:00 +0000

We purchased another house back in August and didn't actually get started on it until September. My husband has it ready to be listed now. It was a small house with only two bedrooms and one bath. We purchased it for $17,000 and we are going to list it for only $54,000! I have some before pictures, and I am in the process of getting some after shots. I will try my best to get this posted today or tomorrow. So keep a look out for it because it was a major transformation on this cute little house.

House has contract!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:08:00 +0000

We have a contract now on this house. Keep your fingers crossed it will all go through. Hopefully it will be closing in about two weeks. This house was the only one we had on the market for this long. I believe it has been approximately 3 months, so that is still not bad with the way the economy is right now. I'll let you know if something happens and it doesn't sell.

Foreclosure Descreased in September

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:38:00 +0000

RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for September 2008. Foreclosure filings were reported on 265,968 properties in September, which was a 12 percent decrease from the previous month but still a 21 percent increase from September 2007. This is good news even though the foreclosure rate is still a major concern for everyone. Foeclosure filings were reported up more than 3 percent during the third quarter of the year. That is up 71 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1.5 million properties from over 2,200 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal's Real Estate Journal.

According to James J. Saccacio, the chief executive officer at RealtyTrac, "Much of the 12 percent decrease in September can be attributed to changes in state laws that have at least temporarily slowed down the pace at which lenders are moving forward with foreclosures,"

Nevada, Florida, California were the top state foreclosure rates in September. I sure hope things change soon for the economy and hope it isn't too far down the road.

I've been tagged!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:39:00 +0000

Kateedyd What?! has tagged me!!! What does this mean? It means I have to share some things about myself with you! What do you want to know? Well, I get to choose what I want you to know!! LOL!!

I am supposed to post 8 random facts about me and then choose 8 people to get tagged!

First, the rules:

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Facts About Me:
1. I have one child, named Haley, who is 18 going on 30.
2. I have a step-son from a previous marriage who I still think of as my own.
3. I have a dog named Noel, which is half lab, half greyhound. I would love to have a Yorkie...maybe someday!
4. I remarried again this past April...so, I'm still a newlywed.
5. I'm the only child! Always hated that!
6. We love to travel...but our favorite are cruises!
7. I have worked at home for approx. 10 year....wouldn't trade it for an outside job!
8. I suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis and have had two knee replacements and one shoulder replacement.

I'm tagging these great bloggers in hopes that I find out some juicy gossip about them:
4 Cats Make Me Crazy
The 40's Life
Bahama Berry
The Cajun Blogger
Candle at Both Ends
Christianity with Tracey
Claudette's Words
Coodas' Corner

Colonial House Foreclosed

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:18:00 +0000

Well we went to see the Colonial House that was foreclosed last week. I cannot describe to you how charming it was inside. It had fireplaces in EVERY room (including bathrooms), hardwood floors that were already refinished in over half the house, brand new solid oak cabinets in the kitchen, pantry and mud room with new granite counter tops. There was a Living Room, Dining Room and Family Room, all of which were huge. There were 3 sets of stairs leading to the second floor because of the house being so big. The foyer was bigger than a regular room that is in my own home! Each bedroom (approx 4 or 5 of them) had new carpet. The master had a walk-in closet that was probably once a bedroom and a bathroom that use to be a bedroom. Also, you could walk outside of the Master bedroom in two places onto two different balconies. Two of the bathrooms had brand new claw foot tubs and a tiled walk-in shower. The vanities in both bathrooms were new. The one in the master bath had double sinks with carved oak cabinets and granite counter tops. Almost all of the house had fresh paint on the walls. The lighting in this house was from top of the line companies. They had antique chandeliers hanging from the foyer, dining room and living room. The third floor, which use to be the atic, was carpeted and was one huge room for maybe a game room. It had a full basement. Whoever the previous owner was had already installed heating and air units for the house. It was just unbelievable! Now want to know what made me mad? My camera died on me when I was trying to take pictures of the inside. I had a few that came out alright of the outside, but my date mark was on and it is wrong...lol. Oh and one other thing, the house is listed in the upper $80s!!! Can you believe that?

Thanks for my award!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:26:00 +0000

Thanks Jen at Drawings on the Wall and Emily at Mama and Hustler??? for my "I Love Your Blog" award. I feel honored to receive this. I want to take a moment and say I truly enjoy reading your blog.

There are some rules for this award:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the persons you've nominated.

So, with that said, I am now passing the award along to 7 blogs that I love. I hope all of you will take some time to check them out.

My nominees are:

My Name's Not Mom

Something Witty to Say

Secola's Space

Slick Mom

Pure Jade Home

A Peek Inside our Life

Fat Girl Goes Fit

Going to see a house tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:05:00 +0000

I'm so excited because tomorrow we get to go see another house that is a potential flip. From what I have heard, it is a charming colonial type house that sits on a hill. They tell me it is already had some work done on it and that it is beautiful! I will be sure and post some pictures when I return.

Purchasing Homes on Ebay

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:32:00 +0000

I was reading the Yahoo News this morning about a woman, Joanne Smith, from Chicago winning a bid for a home on ebay for only $1.75! Can You believe that? The house was an abandoned home in Saginaw, Michigan. According to the article there were 8 bids on this house and she must pay $850 back taxes plus yard clean up. I can't imagine something like this ever happening to me. We sure would have liked to run across a deal like this to flip!

Replacing a Broken Glass

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:33:00 +0000

Sometimes while flipping these houses, we run across windows that have a broken pane. I know one of the first places we look is the Do-It-Yourself site. It has many articles for your project and if you take your time then you can get the project done all by yourself. I know this site has come in handy for us on more than one occassion.