Kendra was just here. She needed to try on some of my wrist braces because she’s going to have to have them to paint her current flip house.
Sometimes she can’t feel her hands. She has the sort of nerve problems that I have. I’m going to order wrist braces for both her right and left hand here in a bit.
She is having her first bad financial experience with the last flip. Seems she ended up with a bad appraiser.
She doesn’t get to pick who they are. He chose to compare her flip to two bedroom houses in that area for some reason.
Once she gets one appraisal, she has to wait 6 months to be eligible for another appraisal. Some sort of rule with the bank or something.
She tricked that house out with everything. It sold quite fast.
Just Plain Bad Luck:
But that appraisal is killing her. She will make literally no profit for 7 months of hard work. Well over $300,000 that she ended up having to put into that house because of problems she didn’t expect to happen.
With houses it’s just the luck of the draw sometimes. Plumbing issues, etc.
She’s fair and honest and makes sure that the house she sells is a good sound house with no problems. Thus she will fix everything that needs fixing before a For Sale sign ever goes up.
Things happen. COVID-19 came into our lives right after she purchased that house. A house she had to pay about $50,000 more for because there just wasn’t any inventory to buy then.
COVID-19 meant she couldn’t get inspectors out on time. The price of lumber went through the roof. It was hard to order appliances.
The Problems Brought About By The Pandemic:
The pandemic put a wrench in a lot of things. And that meant more time she had to wait while paying the mortgage on that house.
Her confidence is suffering a bit because she’s never had this happen with her flip houses. But who could have predicted a pandemic?
Kendra has been very fortunate to make decent profits with all her flips. She uses high-end appliances and unique touches. And she’s very creative.
So while she was here we were brainstorming about a possible side venture for her. Maybe a way to make some sort of passive income.
The pain in her hands and wrists have become problematic. She needs to find a way to make money in addition to selling houses and doing flips.
Dead People’s Stuff:
So Kendra was in the Oklahoma City area seeing her dad a few weeks ago with Kasi. And she came upon a store called “Dead People’s Stuff.”
Whoever owns it buys vintage stuff, hence Dead People’s Stuff. And then sells it from a warehouse. For a good profit.
This idea interests her. Before she started flipping houses she was redoing furniture and selling it.
With her flips she comes up with ideas like adding the molding to the dining room ceiling on her last flip. And it cost her very little money to add a feature that interested buyers. You can view it here.
Ideas?
So what are your ideas? What most interests you?
Is it someone showing you how to make a room look high end while spending little money via video? Is it furniture that someone made look unique?
She has done some Facebook videos showing her expertise with repairs on flip houses. As a realtor for 15 years and the last 5-6 years also doing flips, she knows what to look for when buying a house.
She knows how to read the bones of a house and see problems most of us wouldn’t know to look for.
Should she perhaps market her skills and knowledge online somehow? I could help her with that, no problem.
In my opinion she needs to rest up a bit before she tackles another flip house.
The Housing Market Will Turn Around:
She told me that the houses people haven’t been paying mortgages on due to COVID-19 will be foreclosed on after awhile. Therefore there will be more house inventory to choose from.
Unfortunately, people will begin selling their homes to avoid foreclosure if their finances have been hit hard due to the pandemic.
I’m sure she’ll have better luck with the next flip. She knows how to plan and budget and make a decent profit. There’s no way she could have foreseen a pandemic coming that would derail many of her plans.
Making a house and furniture look loved in her own unique way is what she loves to do. What are your ideas for her next entrepreneurial project using the skills she’s learned?
Ohhhhh Dead People’s Stuff is an amazing place. I think it used to be called Architectural Antiques but now it’s been modified. A store like this in Tulsa metro area would be great! Just my two cents worth! Take care and be careful in this weather
I know Kendra needs a dependable flow of money but wonder if she has ever considered starting a YouTube Channel and creating videos of how to flip houses. She could change it up with DIY ‘s on changing up vintage furniture and how to give it a new life and videos on thrift shopping and what to look for in thrift stores. I follow several in these areas but there are only a few I think get it right. Who knows maybe it would lead to bigger and better things. I know you tubers get monetized when they get to 1,000 subscribers but hey via Mama’s blog we could get her there in no time. She has so much expertise to share I could see her like a Joanna Gaines in the future.
I don’t have any ideas for Kendra and her business, but as for the nerve pain in her hands, it sounds like Carpal Tunnel. What has helped me with this is to take a daily B-Complex supplement. She can also wear a night brace. In the meantime, rest of her hands will help, too.
I ordered braces for her and she should get them today.
Brenda…. just curious if Kendra can refuse selling based on the poor appraisal? If she could put it on the market and a new offer comes in with a DIFFERENT bank, won’t a new appraisal be done? My understanding is the appraiser is hired by whomever the lender is? So, new offer, different bank, different appraiser/appraisal? It’s very difficult when there are fewer comps readily available. Happened to us and cost us $10,000 in 1982. The buyers were using a FHA loan so the criteria they used is more stringent than a regular bank appraisal.
With the fact that she is making zero money on this flip and that deleted the money she was living off of, she must sell quick. She’s already signed the papers. She would have to pay $1500 a month for the mortgage and she’s got too many other mortgages to deal with right now.
Hello Brenda, I had to put my “two cents” in on the appraiser. We were the sellers, AND, had a signed contract with the exception of what the house appraised for. We had high-end everything, as we thought this would be our forever home! Unfortunately, we had a “neighbor” that basically harassed us terribly for 3-1/2 years, and I told my husband, I can’t live here anymore. So, we bought another house and then put this one on the market and long story short, it appraised for $6,000 less! So, of course, these people did not want to pay and we wanted it sold! We felt like the “appraiser” took $6,000 right out of our pocket, same as your daughter….does it sound like the same? Now, 5-1/2 years later, we are so glad we moved, because that neighborhood is going down fast, and the house we are in is going up! I don’t know how some people get away with that. As for another interest for your daughter, perhaps something the two of you could team up together! You are both so talented! Much good luck for the future!
I told her I would handle the computer end of whatever she wants to do. She hates to work on computers and do research, and that’s my thing.
Kendra does such beautiful work I’m sure she will succeed in whatever she puts her hand to. I worked for an interior DESIGNER (not a interior decorator) in Boston for a few years. One of the differences between them is that the designer has to have knowledge of the structure of a building so they will know what walls are holding walls, what can be removed and what has to stay, the local codes for doing so, etc. The decorator just works with the decorating of the home. The designer does both structural planning and changes (usually not the actual construction which is done by construction crews) and gets paid handsomely for their work. Perhaps that is something she should look into. I wish her well in whatever she chooses.
I love auctions and have been to many. Haven’t been to any this whole year…pandemic affects all of us! This is a link to a company that does many estate sales in OKC. They have good sales but I can’t help but think if they would do a much better job staging the merchandise they could do so much better. Kendra has an eye for this sort of thing. You can look at what has been done to set up for a sale beginning tomorrow. Just another idea! https://elliottsestatesales.com/
Kendra is so talented, she will be a success at whatever she decides to do !!!
I’m in Texas, and the oil boom is on the downside, and there are 700 homes for sale in Midland, Texas !!!!! And they were bought at astronomical prices !!!!!
That is SO interesting. I followed the blog of an artist from Midland,TX years ago and they had an extreme housing shortage. And, I believe I remember it was because of the oil business booming. Just goes to show us how one industry can effect an entire community. I can’t imagine living with that sort of instability.
How about your daughter starting a house staging business to go along with her flips? I see the professionals on Flip or Flop. It would take bodies to move it all…
She’s thought about that. But yes, she would need to hire guys to lift all that heavy furniture they use to stage a home. She said the two guys she uses have a warehouse where they store all the furniture. So then she’d have to have that too. We’re talking couches, chairs, dining room table sets, etc.
Brenda, the ad today is staying directly over at least half of the left side thus making reading your entry today nearly impossible. You might want to deal with that.
So sorry about your daughter…but coming from a business family I can tell you it is mostly feast or famine. There are great advantages to being one’s own boss, but it can be scary too. Well, at least she learned who is a bad person to have appraise a house. Not sure that can be controlled, but it should be.
She has no control over who they use to appraise the house. I will get with the ad company about the ad.
The ad company told me this is a problem they are already aware of and are fixing.
Glad to hear that Brenda…cause most folks would not fight with that thing in order to read I think…takes too much time!!
As something to do on the side since she is very knowledgeable on price and details she could co coordinate estate sales for families of deceased. She would have to be bonded I think but they are in high demand. Families don’t know value of or what to do with family members antiques, jewelry, etc and hire someone to come in,price, set up for sale, and have people there during sale. A daughter of a friend makes really good money doing this and even hires people to help her.
So sorry your daughter has issues with her hands and the house deal. How terrible! When you mentioned she checked out the place in OKC (my original home) I instantly thought of your daughter having a place similar to one here in Phoenix. It is called “Sweet Salvage”. They take vintage or new items and fix them or change them to become wonderful decorating touches for your home. I visited regularly until the pandemic. My dining room chairs are from there. Please check it out. You would love it!
The appraisal problem is so disappointing for your daughter.
In 2017 we bought a bank-owned/sheriff’s sale house that had been totally destroyed inside by previous owner and pets left inside. Realtors wore masks & went in only briefly to show it, many people felt it was beyond repair. But my husband and son are more visionary (than me), so we bought it at auction. Spent loads of time, quite a bit of money, painting, floors, furnace, walls knocked down, total kitchen (purchased cabinets at Habitat’s ReStore), etc. My son is renting it currently with the idea to sell it to him (for a low price). As Chris mentioned above, SW Ohio prices have gone crazy. We just got our reappraisal for taxes in our county & the appraised price (with NO visit, NO knowledge of what was done or needs to be done)…appraised the house at more than double what we paid for it. At that price, my son cannot afford to buy the house plus pay the exorbitant taxes. What a dilemma.
Ideas for your daughter – multiple people use YouTube videos to earn money through advertising revenue. I don’t understand it, but The Minimal Mom talks about that is how she and her husband are having income now. Many others are doing the same. Possibly Kendra could check that out & get some local sponsorship who might use that in their advertisement so she could quickly get a following. She could demonstrate those simple tricks she uses, or how she chooses paint colors, or how she decides on a kitchen layout… so many things that she is obviously skilled at that others are stumped by. Or even do some presentations through the local Parks and Recreations or local library classes (or whatever might be in your area).
Thanks! I’ll look into it for her.
I believe you can challenge the tax assessments on a house… at least in NY you can because we’ve done it successfully a couple of times. Something to consider. Can’t you sell a house to your son at whatever price you choose? Does an assessment effect what you can sell a house for? I know you can’t get a mortgage for an amount higher than an appraisal but selling for less than an appraised amount shouldn’t be a problem? Our last house was a cash offer and the buyers didn’t pay for an appraisal and we just negotiated with the buyer directly. If your son needs a mortgage would it be possible to not use a bank and to hold the mortgage yourself. We bought our first house directly from my in-laws and they held the mortgage and we did the same thing with some land we bought with a non family member. Just some thoughts…..
Has your daughter been checked by her physician for carpel tunnel? Sounds like what my husband experienced before he had his wrists fixed.
No, she has awful insurance because she’s self-employed, like me, and it is bare bones coverage. She never sees a doctor, which concerns me.
I did a lot of typing for a few years and developed tendonitis in my wrists. It got to the point where I could not lift a cup of coffee or handle a kleenex very easily or brush my hair. I was seen at the Lahey Clinic in Boston and the doctor told me that if I did not rest my hands and let them heal I would lose complete use of them. I ended up taking six weeks off from work for total rest and then had to find positions where I did not use my wrists so much. And I wore braces like you showed in your blog today for years when I was doing anything. It paid off and I’m now fine but I am still careful if I paint my house (wear braces and rest my hands a lot) or do heavy cleaning (washing woodwork, doors, etc.). So my advice would be to suggest that Kendra take a break from the heavy use of her hands if at all possible and wear the braces all the time for a while.
Houses here in the country are not even up 24 hours and selling above asking price. I think everybody wants more outdoor space right now.
Brenda, why can’t your dtr just pay for another appraiser to come to the house with her so she can highlight the extra improvements? She would then have some proof to take to the mortgage lender (a bank?) and state her case with them. I cannot see that they would just not look a another appraisal and consider it but instead just close the case just like that!
It’s somehow the law that you must wait 6 months to get another appraisal. And you don’t get to pick them either. She’s already pled her case with the bank and they won’t budge on this.
Brenda, ask your daughter to get the statutory reference from the Bank regarding not being able to bring in a second appraiser. I’ve never heard of such a thing. That’s not to say it isn’t the law but I sure would want to check it out by talking to an attorney about it. If she is entitled to rescind the contract because of the below purchase price appraisal, she needs to know if she can put the house back on the market and get a new appraisal from a new buyer and their lender, assuming it’s not an all-cash buyer. Unfortunately, this kind of disaster happens to ALL flippers at one time or other, even the flippers who have shows on HGTV. Speaking of shows, I would love to see a house flipper do her thing on Youtube, following a flip from start to finish, including the ups and downs. People can make money through ads that are intermittently woven into their videos. The more fan base one can build up, the more followers and the more “likes” (thumbs up) that a video gets, the better off the “owner” is. There are several Youtubers who have several million followers. Thanks to your blog, Kendra could have an initial built-in audience of your readers.
Sorry to hear this, Kendra seems like such a hard worker etc. The real estate market has been really “hot” in SW Ohio. Frankly, what I see people paying for homes in the past 1.5 years has me worried we will experience another real estate bubble. I am not surprised she is getting top dollar on the sale of her lovely flip homes, as I say, buyers are really pushing up prices w/ high demand and low inventory. Probably the last appraiser was unable to find good comparables considering they have to go by location (distance) and recent sales (two of many factors they must consider) and if inventory low would limit potential recent sales and if majority of homes in area are two-bedroom-that may be the best the appraiser could come up with. None-the-less, very frustrating. Frankly, I wondered at the onset of the current hot market how on earth were appraisers able to find comps-part of the problem causing last real estate bubble was over-inflated appraisals (along with some lenders playing fast and loose), along w/ little to no down payment (which means no skin in the game, no long-term commitment). Clearly she has great talent at staging homes for sale, maybe she could hook up w/ several furniture stores able to provide product loan in exchange for advertising on site of listed homes and offer this service to other realtors. I have no doubt she can make the right connections in such a way she could make such a venture profitable. Wishing her the best in any direction she may go.
Is there any way she can rent it out for 6 months or a year, and wait out a new appraisal?
Kris, that’s exactly what happened to her.
I just have a friend that is a realtor and flips houses like Kendra. She just had her first bad appraisal too. This guy never even came to the property and used comps from his computer. She said she has never not had an appraiser come out to the property. Apparently he got away with this using Covid to be lazy and not come out to the property. He did not to see all the new and high end things. She normally meets with the appraiser and then points out all the high end things and all the new things added like roof, appliances, windows etc. and finds comps for them too. Then her appraisals always come in great. This guy did nothing put pull up a couple of similar homes not in any great shape to make his appraisal. I cannot believe he can get away with that either did my friend but apparently he is using Covid as an excuse not to come out to the property. The property is vacant except for the realtor to be there to let him in!!! Just crazy. I feel bad for Kendra with all the work she puts into her homes. Sometimes people are using Covid to not really do their job correctly. Have a good weekend.