Boomerang’s very own Vanessa Montoya, a loan officer covering Arizona and Colorado, recently completed her own first real estate flip. We sat down with her to pick-her brain about the whole experience.
I understand you just completed your first flip – congratulations!
Thanks. It was actually a great experience.
Tell me about the project in general.
Yeah, so I picked it up from a wholesaler. It had been on their list for Scottsdale 85257 for a bit. The house is off Thomas and Scottsdale Rd. A prime location, you know older neighborhood, but a really sought-after area.
I ended up meeting a contractor at the property. They were investors as well, that were looking to buy the property. We both walked in at the same time to look at it. I was listening to them talk about the construction portion of it, because that’s not my strength, and I was looking for ideas. I can run numbers and all, but for my first hands-on deal I wanted to partner with a contractor. I could be a part of it, but they would have some other expertise behind it.
This was a father and son GC who’ve been around the valley for years, and he’s a vet, and he’s been working with other investors for a long time, but this was going to be their first flip as well. I’m listening to their ideas for the property and things. I jumped into their conversation, and we started talking and came up with a deal to just partner up, so that’s what we did.
We picked it up in December 2023, right around Christmas time and got started. It was supposed to be done like March/April-ish, but it always takes longer than it’s supposed to, you know? We had issues with permits and the city of Scottsdale was taking a long time. We found out that the garage used to be a carport and was never permitted, and that red tape took us about a month, month and half to clear up.
It was supposed to be on the market like I said around April, we kind of missed the golden window of opportunity that we were trying to hit. But we did get it done! Now, it’s been on the market for two months and we actually just got it locked up today!
Congratulations!
Thanks. An all-cash offer! I just talked to my broker and we’re getting everything taken care of.
Do you have any idea of the profile of the buyer?
Not yet. I haven’t seen the contract yet. It was going to be a primary for a couple, but I think the mother-in-law saw it and I’m thinking they’re gonna rent it out, like an Airbnb is what I’m assuming.
So, what were your overall impressions of the flipping experience?
Well, it took longer than
expected and took more money than expected, but it was such a learning experience with the whole thing. I mean, we made money, which of course was the goal.
But I got to see it from the contractor’s eyes, and I got to see it from our borrowers’ eyes. Sitting on the other side of the table, as an actual borrower, I got to see what kind of emails we get, what kind of notifications we get, how to do a draw. Really the experience as an investor was so valuable. I saw what they go through, to see what all that entails.
How was it being on the other side? Being the investor rather than doing the finance?
It went really smoothly. Like the draw: my brother took care of most of the draws and talking with Latisha. We needed to get more detail in the pictures, but she got back super quick, and we got it all taken care of.
It definitely brings a different feel from just the lending side of a deal. I could talk all day about numbers, but going through things from the other side was eye-opening. It all takes longer than I was expecting; the permits and how long the city of Scottsdale takes to do permits, you know what little hiccups come around. Yeah, it’s been a learning experience, but a good one.
How close was your original plan to the final product?
The carport/garage thing was a curveball for sure. We had to go in and do some extra stabilization on the carport to get it up to code. And then we actually took out a whole wall and that meant a structural beam needed to come out. It was in the plan, but it took longer than expected. We planned for that from the beginning because it literally opened the whole thing when you walk in.
However, I think the process and how long it was gonna take was a little bit more than we expected. But as far as the plan, it went to plan as far as what the outcome looked like, but the cost and time frame was a whole other story.
But it ended up all working out, right?
Yeah, we’re not disappointed.
Any other hints?
This really isn’t for everyone. It took a lot more work than expected. And I wish I’d have communicated a lot more with my GC. They did a great job, but I would have really liked to have been involved in a few more of the decisions.
You really need to check in on the budget a lot and I wish we’d have done more there. Like you really can’t communicate too much! With better communication I think we could have saved some money and maybe some time too. The finishes ended up looking great and definitely “Scottsdale” – which has a specific degree-of-finish that is needed to fit the area. In fact, I think we may have gone a little overboard there, and I really didn’t find out about it until the end when it was too late. I was glad we had good contracts, but I know a few more things I’d put in there now. Nothing horrible and my partner was great, but it would have been nice to have a plan for some of those issues.
Would you do it again?
Absolutely.