While I was gathering progress photos to share the status of my current flip, I paused in a moment of gratitude and thought… How did I even get here!? Well… let me tell you because it’s a big part of the fun!

I came across this house when I was out for my standard 5:30 am bike ride around my neighborhood. (I have to find time to exercise and if it has to happen while I'm still half asleep then so be it!) I saw a sign on a garage as I passed a house that said "auction.com". It caught my attention so I decided to loop around and take a second look. Mind you, it was still very dark out... peach house. white garage. overgrown landscaping. That’s all I saw but all it took. The seed was planted.

On my way to work at about 8:30 am I decided to drive by again. I got out of the car and looked inside. It was a very old, very wallpapered, pea soup green style house with cabinets from 25 years ago. The main living area was half tile and half carpet. The toilets and sinks were DUCT TAPED. There was no A/C unit in sight but there were plenty of cockroaches. And when I left that morning… I was even more intrigued. I saw so much potential in that beat-up abode. SO what did I do? I signed up for "auction.com".

I thought, “ya know what?! let's put a bid on this baby!”

Auction.com is a place where people like me (total flipping novice) can bid on and purchase properties. It’s the largest online auction market in the US. You get access to property information, they match buyers and sellers, they list more properties than anyone else and facilitate a ton of successful sales. I had never used auction.com before, I had never purchased a property before, I had never EVER thought I would find myself in a 'flipping houses' mindset. My background is high-end luxury building… but here I was... contemplating a pretty impulsive $200k+ cash deal.

Fast forward- I’m on my lunch break AT THE CHIROPRACTOR wearing a hot pink robe with an open back and oversized shorts. I’m waiting for the doctor.

I sign on for the noon auction and... I did it! I submitted a bid for $210k.

I’m on the table at my chiropractor's office.

a bid for $210k.

What I didn't realize, and wasn't prepared for at all, was that when you place a bid- a counter bid can be placed at a five-minute timer. Remember! I’ve never done any of this before. I was thinking 3...2....1 I'm the winner! I was very sadly mistaken when, with ZERO seconds on the clock, 5 more minutes were added on. A counter bid had come in with $220k.

And so it began....

$225k... $235k... $237k.... $240k.... $245k .... back and forth we went...

(I should note at this point I was standing outside the doctor's office in the same ridiculous clothing but also barefoot and also screaming out loud "OH MY GOSH!!!!!”)

At 12:16 pm on 9-27-19, I received a notification that I HAD WON THE BID!

My final offer was $252,500 and I

JUST HAD MYSELF

A BRANDDDD NEWWWW CAAAAAR (Replace the car with a house. You get the gist.)

Real talk: I shouted outside the doctor "HOLY SH**! WHAT DID I JUST DO? ****.”

I was flooded with documents, signatures, funding, title agency and waiting. A lot of waiting. Clearing the title takes a lot longer than I realized. I finally closed on the house on 11-7-19.

So now we’re here. You’ve already seen what it looked like the day it became mine. Now, I want to show you how I’ve been fixing it up! I’ve already updated the floors, cabinets, and landscaping. Ready to see? These photos will give you an idea of the before.

Next up: I’ll walk you through the process of replacing them!