Jan. 15, 2026

From Pitfalls To Payday

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The deal looked simple on paper: a compact ranch, clear comps, and a solid off-market price. Then came the real education. Jessica walks us through the flip that became a gauntlet—permits, a surprise roof, a jackhammered slab, busted drains, a GC who vanished at key moments, and a mechanic’s lien arriving right before closing. She didn’t just survive; she learned how to be a kinder, stronger CEO who leads with facts, protects cash flow, and finishes anyway.

We pull apart the money stack she used—hard money plus a private lender—and how draw schedules can strangle a project when milestones stall. You’ll hear the honest math behind scope creep, especially when a second bathroom doesn’t match what the comps reward. Jessica shares how she sourced materials from auctions and clearance aisles, staged the house to sparkle, and priced for velocity. Multiple offers landed within 24 hours, and even closing-day chaos got resolved through steady negotiation and documented lien waivers.

The story doesn’t end at the sale. After the emotional hangover, Jessica engineered a live-in flip with family capital, aligning a fair equity split with a rising Lafayette market. That move restored stability and opened a better path. Then she earned her real estate license, blending investor instincts with client service to create faster, steadier income while staying in the arena. If you care about resilient investing, contractor management, and turning setbacks into systems, this conversation delivers practical, hard-won tactics you can use on your next flip—or your first.

Want more real stories, clear frameworks, and a community that has your back? Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review to help other women find the show.

GOODIES

1. THE book on women flipping houses is here! Click here to grab the digital download of my new book for just $4.99! Just as everything else we do is different, so is FLIPPED: Lessons and Stories of Women Flipping Houses and Facing Their Fears.

2. Sick of sitting on the sideline watching other people do the thing you want to be doing? Are you FINALLY ready to do what it takes to flip your first house and want incredible step-by-step training and support to get you there faster? Click here to see if we may be a fit to work together.

3. Follow That Flip! Follow this 8-part video series as we flip a house!

4. Our goal is to inspire 1,000 new women each month and we've been achieving it with help from loyal listeners like you! If you are getting value out of this podcast will you kindly leave us a rating and review and help us spread our message?

5. Are you a real estate agent tired of chasing the same potential clients as everyone else? Sick of the roller coaster commission? Get the REI Agent Pro Certification! Click here for info and to join the waitlist.

The Flipsisters
Leaving people and places better than we find them.

00:32 - Welcome And Jessica’s Backstory

02:36 - Why Flipping Became The Path

04:28 - Scoring The Deal And Financing Stack

09:41 - Scope Creep And The Second Bathroom Debate

12:31 - Permits, Roof Surprises, And Delays

18:48 - Foundation Jackhammer And Cash Flow Crunch

24:31 - CEO Lessons And Firing The GC

29:12 - Leak Redux And Rebuilding Two Bathrooms

34:12 - Staging, Listing, And Chaotic Closing

38:24 - Mechanic’s Lien And Keeping Relationships Calm

43:49 - Resilience, Kind Leadership, And Takeaways

47:02 - Rebuilding Life With A Live-In Flip

52:03 - From Investor To Agent To Thrive

WEBVTT

00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:36.000
Welcome back to the Flip Houses Like a Girl podcast.

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This is the show where we highlight real stories of everyday women who are learning to flip houses and create freedom for themselves and their family.

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I'm Blair, one of the coaches here at the Flip Sisters.

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I've been flipping and buying rentals for the last six years and have been coaching here for the last three.

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But enough about me.

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Today we're excited to introduce you to Jessica.

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She joined the Flip Sisters program in 2023, and since then, she's been making incredible strides in her local market of Lafayette, Indiana.

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A little bit about her.

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Jessica has been such a delight to have in our group, always asking great questions and hyping other ladies up.

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I've really enjoyed getting to learn about her and her creative energy.

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We can't wait for you to hear her story, the lessons she's learned along the way, and the advice she has for other women who are just getting started.

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Hey Jessica, thank you so much for joining us today.

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Thanks for having me.

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I'm listening to your intro and I'm grinning ear to ear because when I first found out about Flip Sisters, I listened to the podcast all the time and I would take walks and imagine this moment where I would get to be on the podcast.

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So it feels really cool to get to sit in the chair today and be the one who's interviewed.

00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:04.079
Oh, that's awesome.

00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:13.360
I love to hear that from ladies, like that whole full circle moment where, like, you know, this is really what drew me in and made me want to join a community.

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And then here you are getting to be like again in that bright light for other ladies.

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I just think that's really cool.

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Me too.

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And I I feel like it's a pay it forward thing.

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Like I really took the energy from the group and from having the flip sisters.

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And that's what really drove me through and empowered me through some really challenging times during my flip.

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Awesome.

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That's amazing to hear.

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So I know you've had quite a few interesting projects since starting in our group, but I'd love to go back to the beginning and hear about the first full flip you did after joining us.

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Can you tell me a little bit about it?

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I would love to.

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I'm actually glad it's been almost.

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I think I was looking, I closed my first flip last November and it was a haul.

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It was a 15-month timeline that wasn't expected to be a 15-month timeline.

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So I feel like I've had a lot of time to process and reflect on that flip because some people might not think of it as a success, but I think I got my PhD and flipping through it.

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And I'm really, really grateful that it went the way it did, even though it wasn't like this one's a good roller coaster ride.

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So I'm here for a good story.

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Let's see.

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I came to the program really needing to change my life and my trajectory.

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We kind of low key lost our house during COVID in California and moved back to my hometown of Lafayette.

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And my husband, after a little bit of time, we decided not to go back to California and he went to grad school.

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And I couldn't see how I could take care of my kids and help take care of my older mom and do everything and work a traditional job.

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So real estate investing was calling my name.

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And I had started looking for a house pretty quickly after I joined Flip Sisters.

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And I had met several different contractors.

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And I think at this point I had been looking for a place three, four months, which felt like forever at that point.

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But I got a text from this contractor that I had been interviewing and using for some smaller projects on one of my mom's properties.

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And he asked if I was still looking for a flip.

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So I went and I had a look.

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And one of the challenges that I found in my market was finding sold comps that were flipped, which was it made my tear my hair out a lot of times.

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But this house was in a location that we had a really, really solid comp on that had been flipped, like head to toe, same house, same layout.

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And there were a couple others that were within the area that that fit the bill.

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And so it was off market.

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He wasn't expecting me to use him as a contractor.

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And so it's not so easy, but I bought it.

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I got it for$80,000.

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Looking back now, I think I would have been more aggressive in my purchase, but now I'm a realtor.

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So now I'm like I have more negotiating skills and and whatnot.

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So um anyway, so I got that for$80,000.

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I'm trying to remember, I had COVID at the time.

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Like that was the other piece of it.

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Like I was like in, like I made the offer and immediately got COVID and was like, I felt terrible.

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It was all brain foggy.

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And so I used TMD Capital, who a lot of my sisters use for my financing.

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I had interviewed a different a bunch of different hard money lenders.

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And Mike, who is one of their uh incredible guys over there, like really walked me through the process.

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I had no idea what I was doing.

00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:52.560
And it was just the learning and the doing and the learning.

00:05:53.279 --> 00:06:05.519
I put all that together, I put it in the group and I found a private money lender because I had zero, like I'm one of those people who I'm like, I did not have a job, I did not have like we had just lost our community in our home.

00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:07.839
Like we had transitioned, we were figuring out.

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I had a husband in grad school, so I didn't have a lot of resources to work with in terms of coming up with funds to do this.

00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:18.879
I did have a small business and I knew that I had this small business fund.

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I write children's books, and I had socked away about$30,000 towards reprinting.

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Those are supposed to go towards to reprint my books.

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So I had that kind of as backup to kind of get me started.

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But I sat down and I went through the scope of work with my contractor, and my vision for myself was to be very hands-off.

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I did not want to be over there hammering anything.

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Like I wanted to be like, here's the check, here's the like, I will come check the workspace like every couple of days and make sure things are going as scheduled.

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But I really wanted a GC.

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I did not want to project manage.

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I maybe wanted to go pick out some like cool decor.

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That's about all.

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And it did not go this way at all.

00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:05.680
I was gonna say, it sounds like tell me more.

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It sounds like more there.

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So I think I closed on this property.

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I wish I could remember exactly when, but it was like right as the season was turning.

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Um, so it was probably like October, and people were getting sick, it was getting cold, it was getting weathery.

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So I was trying to, I have wanted to hit the ground running.

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I wanted no empty days.

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I come from an entertainment background, so I don't have this, I don't understand this thing where we don't just work all the time until you get to opening night, right?

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So I kind of learned as I went that, you know, one week they're gonna gut it.

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The next week they're gonna, you know, start doing the the roof.

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And there's gonna be little hiccups along the way.

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We also had to pull permits on this because it was not a cosmetic, it was a full gut, like everything had to come out, the the whole thing.

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I don't know how good of a storytelling job I'm doing at this point.

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Do you have any?

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Do I need to fill this in better?

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No, you're doing excellent.

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Like I love it.

00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:10.800
So it was a the way I bought it was a three, no, four bedroom, one bathroom.

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And the comps were telling me three bedroom, one bathroom.

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And you, Blair, were the one who said, Why wouldn't you just keep it as one bathroom?

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And for whatever reason, I listened to my wonderful mentor, my realtor, who was saying, and I heard dollar signs.

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She said, You could two bathrooms, you know, the extra bathroom, and it would probably add value to the house.

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And I was like, Well, why wouldn't we just add the extra bathroom?

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And you said, go look at the comps.

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And I went and looked at the comps, and now all day long I know that in 47904, 47905, a one-bathroom house is perfectly acceptable according to the data.

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But yes, I wanted it to be my vision.

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So this was my very like this was the first like moment of like maybe I would have done that differently.

00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:06.159
So, anyway, we were going to turn this into a three, three bedroom, two-bathroom, full gut, needed all the permits.

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I did have an inspection as recommended, and we didn't need a new roof.

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Like the roof wasn't great, but it could have it could be like pieced together.

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So that we tried to piece together a few things just to save us a little bit of money.

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But our estimate originally for the rehab was$65,000.

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It was about a 1200, 1300 square foot house.

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So nothing huge.

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One story ranch, easy breezy.

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Things got going, and I remember I was on a walk with a friend and I got a text and it said, the roof, it's not gonna work.

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We're gonna need a oh no.

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And we at this point we had already patched the like fixed the roof the way it was, but the electrician had gone in to start doing the rewiring and it had a mast.

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And the mast, they went to like do something on the mast, and there was some um decking that rotted, and the mast was like not stable.

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So they're like the deck, like we just discovered the decking's not good, and we need to pull the whole thing off and put a whole roof on it, which I had not budgeted for.

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And so I was like, okay, there's my surprise.

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I'm gonna take it in stride.

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It's cool.

00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:14.720
So we get the roof on, we get the outside kind of going.

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Things are going like okay, not exactly like I'm looking at the the flyer or like the the handout from Flip Sisters that says go in this order.

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And I know I'm the boss, but I also know I'm not a contractor.

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So I'm like, well, he must know what he's doing, but I'm still going, like, why haven't we put the siding on?

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Like these are like there's these little things that just started to come up where I was like, how bossy do I need to be?

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How, you know, should I let someone who's the expert do their job?

00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:45.279
So I kind of just observed and kept going with the flow.

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Um, we did roughen and like everything timeline just felt like it was taking too long.

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I didn't like that.

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But I think at that point I went to the group and I sort of asked for guidance.

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And the feeling was, okay, well, have you had these conversations?

00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:06.559
Have you had tough conversations with the contractor?

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And I was like, yes, and there's always an answer.

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And as soon as I have the the that conversation, he either shows up or he gives me something.

00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:16.480
And he was very generous.

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So he'd be like, Listen, I've got tile left from the sink, or I've got a siding.

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Like, I didn't pay for any siding for the house, he just gave it to me.

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So everything would just kind of get smoothed over because then we would advance to the next piece of the puzzle.

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And it just didn't feel like it was a deal breaker to the point where I was always like this close to being like, I need to get somebody else, and then it would get back on track.

00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:47.840
So the big thing, like the big implosion, I wish there wasn't one, but it's like Halloween time, it's a good horror story.

00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:58.320
Uh they went to tie the plumbing in for the second bathroom, and the main line was not anywhere that they thought it was supposed to be.

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And I don't know, like, I don't know enough about plumbing still to this day to know like, how did you not know where the main line would have been?

00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:08.879
But we had a really good plumber, and he was like, It's not there.

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We're gonna have to jackhammer into the slab and repo part of the foundation.

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And I was like, this doesn't sound cheap, or I remember that.

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I remember when like you posted pictures and we were like, Oh gosh, it was crazy too, because you walk in the house and it just looked like the pit of hell.

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Like, there was just this enormous like hole and like framing all over the like it and it looked like that for like I think this was about February when this happened, and before this, there had been like a death in the contractor's family, like legitimately, like half the crew got sick, stuff got stolen off the site, like the everything you could possibly think of that could go wrong on the bingo card had started popping up.

00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:55.679
And I was like, this has gotta end at some point.

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So I asked, like, I I consulted my expert and I said, like, how do we handle this?

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And they're like, We're gonna, you know, go in here, we're gonna jackhammer this, we'll tie into the main, we'll re pour concrete, and and we'll we'll be back on our merry way to the cost of I don't remember how many thousands of dollars.

00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:31.519
And the thing that was also tricky is I don't know if like how many listeners are privy to what the draw schedule looks like, but to get your funding for your renovations, you have to finish and show the lender your work and they reimburse you.

00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:38.879
So I had this money that I had for my children's book company, and I kept having to kind of front more things because we couldn't finish anything.

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Like we had started framing, but we weren't finished with framing.

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We had started the bathrooms, but we weren't finished with the bathrooms.

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So the way we had sort of mapped out the draw schedule, I was kind of in a I was kind of screwed at this point because I had to just figure out how to get funds to get us to the point where I could get the funds back from the lender and keep the project moving.

00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:12.480
And I think when I think backwards to a place where I should have been like, do you know, like we when you think you're being the CEO and the boss, but you don't have the muscles yet?

00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:22.159
Like you think you're efforting it as hard as you can, but you don't have the experience enough to just be like, okay, that is like maybe a three, but you think it's a 10.

00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:24.960
So I thought it was being very CEO.

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And when I look back now, I would have fired the whole crib at this point.

00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:38.480
When we had I had ordered the cement truck to come and pour the slab back in after we had jackhammered.

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And we had had to get an inspector to come from the city and approve that the plumbing looked right before we covered it all up.

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And two things happened.

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The GC did not show up for the inspection, and he also didn't show up for when the cement truck came.

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And guess who was there?

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Me.

00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:03.360
And I was I became sympathetic and a little too friendly with my GC.

00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:10.559
And he was like, you know, I have another project that day, I can't make it, and I'm thinking timeline and like what are they gonna really do?

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Like, you know, he's like the plumber will be there when the they pour the the cement, and I can just take notes or record the inspection and give the notes to the GC.

00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:26.080
So I was like, I'll do the guy solid and it'll be a favor, and I'm sure he'll scratch.

00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:29.039
But like he gave me tile, he gave me siding up.

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Like, I can, you know.

00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:37.519
So when we went to pour the concrete, the plumber didn't come, and it was just the concrete guys who were there.

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And they I saw them, they were getting the concrete, and they're like bringing it in in wheelbarrows and putting it in over.

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And I'm like, great, bury that line, let's get finished.

00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:53.600
And apparently, like way down the road, we found out that they didn't pour it correctly, and things kept going.

00:15:53.759 --> 00:16:00.720
Like, long story shorter, it got to about like we got everything poured back in.

00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:06.799
We got the we got our permit, like our inspection permission to continue with the project.

00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:15.279
Because we did also get stuck in permit hell for a second, where typically previously, and this could have also been a BS, I'm not really sure.

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I was told by the GC that previously, if there was something wrong in an inspection, you could continue working on other parts of the house while you fix that thing.

00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:32.480
Well, for whatever reason, that rule changed right in the middle of my pit of hell cement experience.

00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:37.919
And we couldn't move forward with anything until we finished that piece of it.

00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:45.200
And I had to use that plumber because he was on my permit and he was also the most experienced and least expensive.

00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:50.480
And I didn't have an option to just be like, forget that plumber, I'll just use somebody faster.

00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:53.039
I didn't have the money, so I was really stuck.

00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:57.919
Yeah, and I did at that point think about like, what if I just sell it now?

00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:00.320
Like, what if I just walk away?

00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:01.440
Right, right.

00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:02.080
I'm done.

00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:03.200
Let's just go.

00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:04.240
Exactly.

00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:09.119
And I kept looking, my deal analyzer was my safety blanket.

00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:16.160
I kept looking at my numbers, I kept communicating with my private money lender, who was amazing.

00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:22.480
I mean, that was the hard piece to have to call my private money lender and say, listen, this is where we are.

00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:25.200
This is how I am taking care of these problems.

00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:27.359
This is what this is costing.

00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:32.960
I am still like, we're still on target to like hit our ARV, like we're gonna be okay.

00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.119
I'm gonna we I'm gonna fix it all.

00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:39.599
But those were really tough conversations that made my stomach hurt quite a bit.

00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:50.240
And if we go back in the story where I wanted this to be all so passive and I wanted to be more of the overseer, I jumped into like this ship's going down and I will freaking bail out the water myself.

00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:53.440
So I I would I still can't believe this.

00:17:53.599 --> 00:18:13.599
My materials cost for this whole project was$17,000 because I basically scrapped every design thing that I thought I was going to use and either found something free on Facebook Marketplace or on deep discount clearance or at auctions to put in my house to make it function well, look nice, match the comps.

00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:18.160
And even like I even went, like somebody was like, Why did you put tile surrounds in your showers?

00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:21.119
I'm like, because the tile was free and that's cheaper than vinyl.

00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:26.880
So my house looked fancy, even though it was like a starter home, but I got the tile for nothing.

00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:32.799
So that felt like that sounds fun right now to go discount shopping.

00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:38.640
But every day I dropped my kids at school and I'm like, we're going to Menards to find doors, and they have to be this size.

00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:50.000
And they like, or I'm driving to the country to the auction house to pick up a bathtub, or it was just it was not, it was not fun, but I also am not a quitter.

00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:52.160
And I just was like, I'm finishing this.

00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:54.559
It was like me versus the house at this point.

00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:58.640
So we got back on track a little bit.

00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:02.000
We got flooring in, we got cabinet set.

00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:04.799
I went off to LA to go on a vacation.

00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:15.599
This is July, and at this point, people are showing up for like a couple weeks, and then we have these dead weeks, and I'm starting to like find my CEO roar.

00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:19.200
I'm really starting to read the riot act to this um contractor.

00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:24.559
Cause I'm like, we have to be done, and like we were supposed to be done in March, and it's July.

00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:30.240
And I know some of this isn't your fault, and some of this is, so let's get done.

00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:38.000
So I got back from LA, they had gotten the kitchen set up, and I think we went to turn the water on.

00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:45.440
And every I was I was so nervous about turning utilities back on after having them off for so long.

00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:47.759
And it seemed like everything was okay.

00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.480
And a few days later, I kept hearing I'd go in the house, it'd be empty, and I heard this hissing noise.

00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.480
And I'm like, what is this noise?

00:19:54.799 --> 00:20:00.319
And the water company called and said, You're your meters reading like 17 gallons a minute.

00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:04.160
And I'm like, what on earth are you even talking about?

00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:06.799
There was a leak under the slab.

00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:12.000
So I was like, we're and we were like two weeks away from being like completely done.

00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:15.759
I'm like literally just like, I never want to see this house ever again.

00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:18.000
I can burn it down at this point.

00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:20.079
Let's just take the insurance and go.

00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:20.559
Yeah.

00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:21.200
Exactly.

00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:24.000
I was just like, this couldn't go any any worse.

00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:28.960
So I remember I was sitting on the kitchen floor and texting people trying to get stuff finished.

00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:34.960
And a subcontractor texts me at the same time that I've just found out my slab has a leak and says, I need to get paid.

00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:36.559
And I said, Excuse me.

00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:39.200
I'm like, I pay the general contractor and he pays you.

00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:40.400
He's like, he's not paid me.

00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.319
And I'm like, excuse me.

00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:48.960
And then he sends me a text message of a screenshot that says the general contractor doesn't work for me any longer.

00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:52.160
And I'm like, he has not informed me of this.

00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:55.759
So I like it, you know, like in horror movies where everything goes, all right.

00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:56.400
Right.

00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:59.440
In that moment, like the knife.

00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:00.240
Yes.

00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:03.839
Well, and also like I became the incredible Hulk at that point.

00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:06.720
I was like, this and all this ends now.

00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:08.720
I was like, this is such a mess.

00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:10.480
I just need a second to breathe.

00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:18.640
I am like, I'm the most kind and powerful firing person you'll ever meet.

00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.559
Like, my I think that's my power.

00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:22.559
Like, that's what I love about being a CEO.

00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:26.319
Is like, it doesn't mean I have to be mean or snarky or bitchy.

00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:28.799
I will just point you to facts all day.

00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:34.240
I will thank you for the things that you've done, and I'll say, This is not working for me, and I need to find a different solution.

00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:37.039
And I really try to make it not personal because that's what works for me.

00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:39.359
That's how I want to show up in my business.

00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:41.759
But also, that's enough.

00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:55.680
So I pretty much put all the crew and every like there wasn't anyone hardly showing up anyway, except this guy who hadn't been paid, who had probably like had caused some of these problems and the GC.

00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:57.279
So I just was like, we're down here.

00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.920
Like, and I've got my lien waivers all signed.

00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:05.680
Like, and I was very graceful about that to make sure I was like, Are we finished?

00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:09.119
Have I paid you in full for everything that we've agreed to?

00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:12.000
And he said, like, I made sure it said, absolutely.

00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:13.599
I'm like, will you please sign this thing?

00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:15.359
Okay, I think we're finished here.

00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:16.640
Now we're moving on.

00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.039
And I took about a week, not on purpose.

00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:21.599
I wasn't like, hmm, I'm gonna take a week and try to figure this out.

00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:31.279
I was pooping my pants for a solid week, going like, okay, I have to just become the GC now and figure out how do I fix this leak?

00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:35.519
How do I get this house finished and on the market as fast as I possibly can?

00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:40.000
Because at this point, I had to extend my hard money loan.

00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:43.200
So now I'm bleeding money on the finance side too.

00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:45.359
That's not fun.

00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:48.000
And it's not, it's not fun.

00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:49.279
A little stressful, a little stressful.

00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:53.359
It's really stressful, but I just kept going like each problem has to get solved.

00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:56.799
Like, I can't like freaking out isn't gonna help nobody.

00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:06.720
And I mean, I still freaked out because you have to release your emotions, but I would let myself freak out for like 10 minutes, and then I would be like, Okay, now we got to fix it.

00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:09.359
So, what's the one step where we can fix it?

00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:12.319
So we got the leak detected.

00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:16.240
We had to guess what, jackhammer into that slab one more time.

00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:17.920
Oh, you're kidding me.

00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:21.680
We had to take the whole HVAC system out to access it.

00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:26.640
So, like, there was a furnace and like everything in this closet, and that's where the leak was.

00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:29.519
So we had to remove that and get it put back in.

00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:31.920
And then I had these glass shower doors.

00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:34.880
I'm telling you, this thing, there's like jump scare after jump scare.

00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:41.039
I had a glass shower doors that I needed installed, and so I was like, I could I kept having these contractors come over.

00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:42.400
I'm like, Do you install these?

00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:45.839
And one guy came over, he's like, Yes, but he wasn't licensed or he wasn't insured.

00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:47.279
And I was like, Nope, you're out.

00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:49.839
And then another guy came over, he's like, I've never done this.

00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:51.359
And I was like, Nope, you're out.

00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:51.759
Yeah.

00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:54.079
So I got in the car and I'm like, what do I do?

00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:59.759
And there was this little whisper in my ear that's like, go to Home Depot where you bought them and ask them if they have installers.

00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:10.799
So I did, and they hooked me up with this contractor who immediately came and looked at my house and informed me that all my drains had been put in incorrectly.

00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:12.240
Oh, stop.

00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:22.480
And so I was like, I was like, I already had my final inspection scheduled, but he was like, I hate to tell you this, but he's like, Your drain is like wonky.

00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:26.720
Like, and I could tell, like, there was like a bathroom drain that was just a little bit crooked.

00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:28.240
And I'm like, could that be fixed?

00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:32.160
And he's like, That's not actually in there properly.

00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:49.039
And he's like, in order to get these doors in, they hadn't put any studs behind the drywall to hold these giant glass doors because they were gonna put them in with like anchors because you know, god, they can fall on somebody and only kill them, but you know, anchor will hold.

00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.000
Oh, yeah.

00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:53.119
No, the whole house of cards, like it had already fallen apart.

00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:56.160
We'd put it back together, it started falling apart again.

00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:59.839
But fortunately, this contractor was like, I can help you.

00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:02.000
And he's like, Let me come back tomorrow.

00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:05.440
Let's just bullet point like all the things that have to get done to get this fixed.

00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:06.240
And I'm like, You're right.

00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:11.359
I was either gonna find out about this from you who can actually help me fix it, or the inspector two weeks from now.

00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:13.839
So this is better that it's happening now.

00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:16.720
So they come, they give me an estimate.

00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:18.480
It's it was very fair.

00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:20.960
Of course, I'm like way over budget at this point.

00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:25.039
My at this point, my parents, like my mom is helping me like just finish it.

00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:29.920
Like, and I'm still going, like, I haven't even been able to do math at this point.

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:31.839
Like, I don't even know how far gone I am.

00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:34.480
But I do I don't even want to look at it at this point.

00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:39.039
I could I didn't have the capacity to like add two numbers if I wanted to, but I did.

00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:44.559
I kept going back to that deal analyzer and going, like, thank God for like my realtor is incredible.

00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:48.319
Like, she's my team leader now from uh on my real estate team.

00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:54.400
And she's very conservative and she does not beat her on the bush.

00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:55.519
She does not want it.

00:25:55.839 --> 00:26:00.960
And so when we went to set the ARB, she was like, We're gonna be conservative, we're gonna set it at$200,000.

00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:02.559
And I was like, that's fine.

00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:10.000
But I kept watching the market and I knew that I was still in decent shape to like we knew that we could probably get 210 for it.

00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:11.839
So I was like, all right, I've got that margin.

00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:16.160
I was smart enough to put at least a 3% buffer instead of a 2% buffer.

00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:22.319
So I had put a couple of things in there to kind of save me, but we were we were pushing super hard.

00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:37.759
And I think the most unfortunate piece of news, besides the cement truck piece, was that we had to rip out not one but two finished bathrooms to access these drains, put them back together and get it on the market.

00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:39.839
And I really hated that idea.

00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:43.839
Yeah, because you're like, okay, but I already did it, it's done.

00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:44.640
It's two.

00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:45.440
I pay for it.

00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:49.680
There's more and more than I have to take it back out.

00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:51.839
Oh, that's awful.

00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:53.200
It sucks so bad.

00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:56.640
So they made quick work of it, and their estimator was really incredible.

00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:03.039
Like he found, like, I still had to like figure out how to fix a garage that was like falling down in the backyard.

00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:04.480
And he was amazing.

00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:06.799
He came through and was like, Don't use this siding that's free.

00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:10.960
He's like, actually use this siding because it's less labor to put this siding on than this side.

00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:15.599
Like he just did things for me that it just made me feel like someone was helping me.

00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:20.400
Like I wasn't just like out in the ocean sinking in a boat all by myself.

00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:24.319
They really did a lot to help me out and just get me to the finish line.

00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:31.519
So while they fixed that, I was like, Well, I'm staging this thing to the teeth because we are getting as much money out of this house as I possibly can.

00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:35.119
So I've got to like give it value, I've got to make it a superstar.

00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:37.920
So I took, you know, my own furniture.

00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:40.079
I went and I got stuff.

00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:44.000
Like I I got, I mean, I hate to admit it, but in I come from entertainment.

00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:49.680
And in entertainment, we will stage a set and we'll take all the stuff back to the store when we're finished.

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:58.319
So I only had to set it up because we were like once we got it up and finished, which felt like my whole I don't know, it felt like my entire 40s.

00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:06.799
It didn't feel like it was just a year, it felt like a decade of my life had passed where I was getting this house like up and ready to go.

00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:13.279
And we put it on the market, and within 24 hours, we had multiple offers.

00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:17.680
And thank God I was just like, I can't do one more day.

00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.920
Like, I just need to close like right tomorrow.

00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:23.039
Yeah, just take this house from me.

00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:30.000
So we listed it at 2099, and we ended up closing at 213.

00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:34.559
So that saved me a little bit, but the story doesn't end there.

00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:39.839
We go to I and I was just like, what poltergeist is this house?

00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:46.079
Because I went to the title company to close, you know, sign all the closing paperwork.

00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:51.359
And I walked in and my realtor was standing there, and I'm like, I just don't feel like I just feel like something's off.

00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:54.160
I'm like, maybe it's just me because I've had such a bad experience.

00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:55.359
She's like, no, no.

00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:59.839
She's like, I just don't, I won't feel done until the paper, like the ink is dry.

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:00.079
Right.

00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:02.079
Oh no, you have it too.

00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:10.000
So we go in to close, and it turns out that the buyer's lender drafted the wrong type of loan.

00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:14.079
I mean, they thought it was supposed to be an investment property.

00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:20.799
And the guy's like, no, I'm gonna own or occupy this, which changes like how much money you need down, but it changes everything, right?

00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:24.000
Changes everything, and like that's kind of a basic question.

00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:28.240
You would have assumed a loan officer would have figured out at the beginning of this process.

00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:29.920
You would have thought, right?

00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:34.400
So the other, the the buyer's agent comes out and is like, could we close this on Monday?

00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:38.319
And I was like, No, like we absolutely cannot close it now.

00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:40.079
Like, do you know how long even when you close this?

00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:43.440
I'm like, we absolutely cannot close this on Monday.

00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:51.200
And it took us an hour of the buy, like the buyer's agent, the seller's agent getting together, negotiating.

00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:52.480
My agent was incredible.

00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:53.200
She was Zen.

00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:54.960
She, I could I just felt her go foom.

00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:59.839
She was like, We're gonna get this closed, and they figured it out, and they basically closed, they closed.

00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:07.279
Closed it and got the lender to agree to refinance it, but without me in that picture.

00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:10.880
Like, and like eat some of the fees and the cost that it was going to cost fire.

00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:18.160
So like I was still just like, I went home that night and I was still like, is there like it's oh, but wait, there is more.

00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:19.279
I forgot this part.

00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:21.279
You're like afraid to like breathe.

00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:23.200
You're like, okay, don't move quickly.

00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:26.319
Like, don't breathe, don't move quickly, don't look at anything.

00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:28.000
Sit down, be quiet.

00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:30.160
I didn't forget one more jump scare.

00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:31.599
Like, you're like, wait, how?

00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:33.839
Because there was one more thing, and I had forgotten.

00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:35.839
I had written this down on my notes.

00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:45.519
So about a week and a half before we close, I got a letter in the mail that said a mechanics lien was being placed on the property.

00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:46.319
Oh no.

00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:47.680
Like, how's this possible?

00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:49.440
I've paid every single bill that has been.

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:51.359
I have all my lien waivers.

00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:56.000
All my lien waivers, like I I paid the GC, I have I can show you all the things.

00:30:56.240 --> 00:31:00.720
Well, the the roofer, the subcontractor, never got paid.

00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:14.640
And so in the state of Indiana, I don't know if it's in all the states, but if someone does work on your house and pays a subcontractor, they can still put a lien on the homeowner's house anyway.

00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:17.039
Like they can bring you in, even if it's not your fault.

00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:18.960
And I was like, and we were out.

00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:20.400
This made me so mad.

00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:26.160
Technically, they were outside of the the window of time in which they have to be able to do it.

00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:30.720
But they knew that like I wouldn't sue them for that.

00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:35.680
Like it was one of those things where they were just trying to get there, which they needed to get paid for the roof.

00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:36.079
That's fine.

00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:38.240
But I'm like, dude, really need to involve me.

00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:39.839
And right, right.

00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:43.839
You're like, call the GC, like who your contract is with, by the way.

00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:53.039
So, and this comes back to like being like diplomatic when you fire people and when you communicate with people who make you mad.

00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:57.839
Because I had preserved that relationship, and I didn't do it just be like, I need to preserve this relationship.

00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.839
I want to be a kind person, right?

00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:18.880
Because I even in the times that were hardest, where I had to be like, how like please explain to me why these people didn't show up, or please explain to me why your subcontractor put these strains in and you didn't come and look at the the the finished product before it was, you know, finished.

00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:27.440
When I had to go to him and say, Listen, there's this mechanics lien on my house and I need to close, and this is compromising my ability to be finished with this project.

00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:29.680
How are we gonna fix this together?

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:33.519
It was a very uh diplomatic conversation to have.

00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:45.200
And it turned out from what I understood, it turned out that he had paid a roofer in cash, and the roofer took the cash and and stole it and never got to the boss.

00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:49.359
So, again, has nothing to do with me, but that guy never got paid.

00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:55.680
So if he ended up having to pay for it twice, which that's not fun for him, but also not my fault.

00:32:56.000 --> 00:33:07.519
So we just managed to get that like we couldn't close with that lien on the house, and we just squeaked by within like a day of getting that thing dealt with.

00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:14.880
And if I had been a total bee to the contractor, he might not have been so privy to be like, let me get that taken care of.

00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:29.759
So I feel like I that was something I was super proud of, was really how I handled some of the awful moments where I really wanted to scream and cuss and call names and stomp my feet and be less than kind.

00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:35.599
But I just was like, okay, if I do this, this draws a line and I can never uncross it.

00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:42.880
So let's try to just keep things open and communicative so that we can problem solve and just get everybody closed and happy.

00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:47.839
So that is the long sorted tail of that flip.

00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:48.799
Yeah.

00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:49.440
Yeah.

00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:57.519
What I love, like, and what I loved about like watching you along the way was your perseverance and your creativity.

00:33:57.680 --> 00:34:04.880
And so it's very cool now to get to hear like your thoughts behind dealing with people because I love that.

00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:14.719
I tell people like one of, you know, as a mentor, as a coach, one of the things that I'm excited about is releasing people out into the world who are good and kind.

00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:23.440
Um, I think especially as women, it's very hard for us to have that not softer side is probably not the right phrase.

00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:28.079
But like you said, I don't have to be a B to be a great CEO.

00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:32.000
Um, so I love hearing that from you because I do think you're right.

00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:36.559
Like we can sit down and we can have tough conversations and use facts.

00:34:36.719 --> 00:34:44.480
Um that's why we're big proponents of contracts and timelines and pictures and all of that, because you can just, you know, here's the facts.

00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:46.960
Um, here's the data, so to speak.

00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:49.760
And you don't have to be rude and you don't have to be mean and stuff.

00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:51.039
Stuff happens, right?

00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:52.639
Like you mentioned a death in the family.

00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:56.239
I've had that happen, you know, and it's not that they're trying to avoid you.

00:34:56.320 --> 00:35:02.960
It's not that anything that they could overcome, but like at the same time, it's your job to drive the shit, so to speak, right?

00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:05.920
So you have to kind of make some careful decisions.

00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:09.840
Um, so it's so nice and it's refreshing for me to hear someone.

00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:13.360
I I absolutely adore that attitude as a CEO.

00:35:13.679 --> 00:35:21.920
So I have to ask Jessica, because I love I love that you call this a horror story, because it does sound like it was like blow after blow after blow.

00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:26.400
So after this, you went on to do more projects.

00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:32.079
So I know our listeners are gonna be like, holy heck, Jessica, why?

00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:33.360
I know.

00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:35.760
I think there's a few things.

00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:37.519
I mean, let's get real first.

00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:42.239
I didn't just like brush my little self off and be like, hey, let's get another one.

00:35:42.719 --> 00:35:42.880
Yeah.

00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:45.760
It took me like I was really depressed.

00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:52.079
Like I had, I think I called it the wind out of my sails, probably until the spring.

00:35:52.480 --> 00:36:00.079
Like I closed in November and I had a solid six months where I was like the I felt like I never failed so hard in my life.

00:36:00.239 --> 00:36:04.400
And I just there was a lot to unpack and reflect on.

00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:08.639
And so I did, like I spent a like a solid hibernation period.

00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:12.960
But within that, my husband was gonna graduate from college.

00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:18.000
We had been living with my mom for three years, wonderfully, like things were going great.

00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:24.800
Like I have three teenage daughters, like our little happy family was working well, but we needed a place of our own.

00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:37.519
And flipping was supposed to be the way that I was going to finance us, getting back on our feet financially while my husband was transitioning out of school, and then we would eventually like get our own place.

00:36:37.679 --> 00:36:41.039
And we kind of lost patience with it, you know.

00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:46.880
Like when you have teenagers, like my daughter graduated in that same spring that my husband did, my first daughter.

00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:58.480
And while we could still live at grandma's house, like completely fine, we wanted to, we really were tired of having like our memories of as a core family on hold.

00:36:58.719 --> 00:37:02.719
We really treasured the idea of having time together.

00:37:02.960 --> 00:37:08.079
And so I was very motivated to figure out how to buy a house for my family.

00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:10.159
And again, I didn't have any money.

00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:15.519
Now I had less money because I drained like almost all of that children's book fund account.

00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:17.360
I still didn't have a job.

00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:21.679
So I had been running my mom's Airbnb and making part-time money off of that.

00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:24.320
And my mom was helping support us.

00:37:24.480 --> 00:37:27.679
My husband was getting a small stipend from going to graduate school.

00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:31.119
But I was like, we were like, How are we gonna do this?

00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:37.760
So I started getting in the the our Facebook group and I was like, How would you how would you solve this problem?

00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:40.719
And once I got a puzzle, forget it.

00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:42.159
And that's that's my how.

00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:47.920
My how is like, if you put the right puzzle in front of me, I will mess with it until I try to figure it out.

00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:54.880
And we really had no business looking at houses for our family, but at the same time, I'm in a market that's appreciating.

00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:58.480
We have tons of growth that's happening in our in our town.

00:37:58.559 --> 00:37:59.920
It's a university town.

00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:04.079
There's all this job development that's coming in with these different manufacturing companies.

00:38:04.159 --> 00:38:06.880
And I was like, this is a good place to invest.

00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:12.000
What investor can I find who wants to park some money in a house while I live in it?

00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:20.800
So instead of me just going out and renting from any landlord, how could I make an investor want to be my landlord, but also let me be part of the investment?

00:38:20.960 --> 00:38:22.159
And then I can live in that house.

00:38:22.239 --> 00:38:24.559
And like I had that all just like in my mind.

00:38:24.960 --> 00:38:29.679
And I will tell you that DSCR loans aren't the answer because I already looked.

00:38:29.760 --> 00:38:30.480
Like we tried.

00:38:30.559 --> 00:38:34.079
And I even found a lender who was like, just do it anyway.

00:38:34.159 --> 00:38:36.559
And I was like, I don't think so.

00:38:36.719 --> 00:38:38.880
Like uh, feels icky.

00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:41.599
Yeah, it feels like it could be illegal, I could lose my house.

00:38:41.679 --> 00:38:42.480
So no thanks.

00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:54.480
But we ended up finding a family member and I presented the idea to them, not in a gross, like, please buy me a house because I'm poor, kind of way, but more in a this is a great investment.

00:38:54.639 --> 00:38:55.440
Here's why.

00:38:55.599 --> 00:39:05.199
And we'll bring, I had a little bit of legacy money that my grandparents had left me that I had planned to use for a down payment if I could qualify for a house at any point.

00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:07.679
And I had that to bring to the table.

00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:16.000
And we needed someone's credit and we needed someone's like ability to lend us a down payment and like go on mortgage with us.

00:39:16.159 --> 00:39:19.679
And so we found a family member who thought that was a great idea.

00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:23.840
They knew we were trustworthy and we wouldn't be like missing our mortgage payments.

00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:31.360
And we negotiated a deal that made sense for both of us, and we found a like a live-in flip essentially.

00:39:31.679 --> 00:39:36.400
So we found a property that'd been sitting on the market for most of the summer.

00:39:36.639 --> 00:39:53.679
This was like also this was crazy timing because right as I'm finishing like the horror movie flip of my life, this other house comes into the picture, and I'm like, well, we could offer on that and see if they'll take what we want to offer.

00:39:53.920 --> 00:39:56.000
And so we got it for a really good price.

00:39:56.159 --> 00:40:03.039
We didn't quite follow the same flip sister formula for it because we're gonna live in it, we're gonna stay in it for like as long as we live here.

00:40:03.280 --> 00:40:14.320
So there we still use comps, but maybe the comps weren't as like exact ARV on it, but it needed it really just needed cosmetic work.

00:40:14.639 --> 00:40:22.400
So we were like basically saying we'll do all the cosmetics and all the renovations with our legacy money.

00:40:22.639 --> 00:40:27.599
You guys put in the part for the down payment, and then we'll take it from there.

00:40:27.679 --> 00:40:37.840
And then we made a way that, like, at some point we'll either cash out, refinance, and pay them out, or when we sell the house, we'll split equity in a way that um we agreed on.

00:40:38.079 --> 00:40:40.559
So it became win-win for everybody.

00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:52.000
Uh, we closed on that house shortly before my flip closed, and then we took probably two months to like rip all the flooring out, refloor it.

00:40:52.400 --> 00:40:55.119
The plumbing ghost came for me again.

00:40:55.440 --> 00:40:56.400
Oh no.

00:40:56.639 --> 00:41:00.639
Yeah, like we I'm gonna send you some like plumbing stage.

00:41:00.880 --> 00:41:02.960
Yeah, some kind of like stage for the plumbing.

00:41:03.199 --> 00:41:09.360
Um, we snaked a a drain that was slow and it broke the a clay pipe.

00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:12.000
That I mean the house is from 1938, so it's old.

00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:17.519
Broke an old pipe, but that pipe leaked into the ceiling and our dining room ceiling fell in.

00:41:17.760 --> 00:41:22.800
Uh so we re-plumbed that part.

00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:24.719
It was great.

00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:26.079
We worked through it.

00:41:26.239 --> 00:41:33.039
Like, honestly, at that point, the guy who helped do my helped save my flip, he was my contractor on that.

00:41:33.199 --> 00:41:40.800
And again, like we had done projects together, so he came up with a really nice price to get everything done and squared away.

00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:41.360
Awesome.

00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:46.400
We did add a bat, we added made a half bathroom to a full bathroom, but the comp said we should.

00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:51.440
So we did some value add to the property, and that's where our family is living now.

00:41:51.519 --> 00:41:55.679
And it feels really cool to be like, wow, I'm paying less than what market rent would be.

00:41:55.840 --> 00:42:01.840
And I have a great investment, and every month that I'm paying money is an investment in my family.

00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:06.480
And my family members are also appreciating the growth that's happening in this market.

00:42:06.719 --> 00:42:09.679
So it's kind of it's just been win-win-win.

00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:30.320
But to secondarily answer your question, the other piece that got me going again was my realtor, mentor, team leader sat me down and was like, if you she's like, at this point, I was trying to wholesale, I was still trying to make money and not get a real job because it just didn't make any sense.

00:42:30.559 --> 00:42:33.360
And I needed the flexibility, be with my family.

00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:35.519
Like I still wanted to be entrepreneurial.

00:42:35.840 --> 00:42:40.639
So I knew I could either wait tables or I could do something where I could make money faster.

00:42:40.719 --> 00:42:48.239
So I could get back to real estate investing as fast as I possibly could, um, and still put food on the table.

00:42:48.480 --> 00:42:48.800
Yeah.

00:42:49.199 --> 00:43:00.960
So she sat down with me after we closed our live in flip and was like, if you had sold this house, like or done the deal yourself, you would have a like if you'd been the realtor, you would have made this much money.

00:43:01.280 --> 00:43:04.559
And if you're the investor, you would have saved this much money.

00:43:05.039 --> 00:43:08.320
And what would you think about just getting your like just get your license?

00:43:08.480 --> 00:43:13.599
Because you could join my team and then you would have a job and you could do that.

00:43:13.760 --> 00:43:17.760
She could see my vision to be an investor in the long term.

00:43:18.079 --> 00:43:21.920
And she's like, be a realtor so you can be the investor.

00:43:22.320 --> 00:43:25.440
And it wasn't the like, so you can save the money on the flip.

00:43:25.679 --> 00:43:31.920
And I was, I kind of had this moment where I was like, I'm gonna have to do something to financially recover from this.

00:43:32.239 --> 00:43:34.960
And I can't sell that many books that fast.

00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:38.800
And you know, entertainment gigs are here and there.

00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:40.079
So I needed to do something.

00:43:40.159 --> 00:43:42.400
And it was like it literally that are weight tables.

00:43:42.559 --> 00:44:04.400
And I was like, okay, so I spent the dark, my dark hibernation days sitting in my bed with my cat studying for my real estate tax and I passed it, and so I got my license in April, and now I feel added, I'm very rejuvenated to go back and try again because now I have a little bit more financial comfort.

00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:14.800
Like I've closed a few real estate deals as a realtor now, and I'm seeing that I'm people are seeking me out, not just because I'm a realtor, but because I'm an investor.

00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:18.000
And those things together aren't very common in our market.

00:44:18.079 --> 00:44:22.559
Like we have realtors who invest, but maybe they do it in a different way.

00:44:22.719 --> 00:44:25.440
And I really use data, like we're taught to.

00:44:25.599 --> 00:44:29.840
Um, and I think people can appreciate that and they can understand it more easily.

00:44:30.079 --> 00:44:33.360
So that that's been that's been cool.

00:44:33.599 --> 00:44:38.960
But also, like I said, I just I can't if I fail at anything, I gotta try again.

00:44:39.119 --> 00:44:40.480
Like, I just can't.

00:44:40.719 --> 00:44:42.400
I love that about you.

00:44:42.639 --> 00:44:45.280
Like, I'm just like, nah, I have no like you've said it before.

00:44:45.360 --> 00:44:46.559
Yeah, I just don't have quit in me.

00:44:46.639 --> 00:44:49.199
Like, and I get I'm like, could I just quit, please?

00:44:49.280 --> 00:44:51.119
Like, let's just I'm like, nope.

00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:51.840
Just be done.

00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:52.400
It's like, nope.

00:44:52.559 --> 00:44:55.840
The next day I wake up and I'm like, dang it, I'm gonna figure it out.

00:44:56.000 --> 00:44:58.639
Like, I I have to figure it out.

00:44:58.880 --> 00:45:00.559
And I just I enjoy it.

00:45:00.719 --> 00:45:12.320
Like I dork out over real estate investing books and podcasts, and I I just think it's fun, except when it's not, but but you know what?

00:45:12.480 --> 00:45:16.239
Like, it's funny that you say that because like sometimes I'm like, yeah, being in real estate is tough.

00:45:16.320 --> 00:45:22.159
Like I told you, I'm very honest with people and like you know, you know, the phrase, you know, getting your teeth kicked in on a daily.

00:45:22.239 --> 00:45:24.880
Sometimes that that's the season we're in and it happens.

00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:33.280
But like also, like it's the best day at the office I've had compared to going and sitting in like a corporate world or like you said, waiting tables.

00:45:33.599 --> 00:45:45.679
And like one of the things that I I love about the real estate investment space, and you kind of showed that a little bit towards the end of our conversation here, is the way that it can lead to so many different paths.

00:45:45.840 --> 00:45:53.599
Like you found your love of actually being a real estate agent and have like beautifully blended being an investor and an agent.

00:45:53.760 --> 00:45:55.840
And you're right, like I 100% agree.

00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:57.039
I wear both hats.

00:45:57.199 --> 00:45:58.000
I do both.

00:45:58.239 --> 00:46:05.199
And I think being an investor and having rehabbed homes and been through all that process makes me a stronger agent.

00:46:05.360 --> 00:46:12.559
I can walk people through an inspection report with a lot more knowledge than agents who maybe don't invest.

00:46:12.960 --> 00:46:15.199
And I also, you know, I agree with you.

00:46:15.360 --> 00:46:22.800
Like real estate is the fastest, most fun way, even on the tough days, to make large sums of money.

00:46:22.880 --> 00:46:25.360
And then, like you said, I use the same thing.

00:46:25.440 --> 00:46:32.239
I use a lot of my agent money and it goes back into my business or into buying rentals or different things like that.

00:46:32.320 --> 00:46:41.440
So there's different ways that you can get like, you know, smaller lump sums, bigger lump sums, short, you know, slow money, fast money, that kind of stuff.

00:46:41.519 --> 00:46:45.920
And you can all do it like in one little real estate world, so to speak.

00:46:46.239 --> 00:46:46.880
Exactly.

00:46:47.119 --> 00:46:48.000
No, exactly.

00:46:48.239 --> 00:46:52.719
I mean, I think my bigger picture, like I haven't, I'll never give up on my creative side.

00:46:52.880 --> 00:46:57.760
Like I'm a singer, songwriter, writer, like that's all still in the mix.

00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:01.760
I think the other piece of real estate that I love is there's so much creativity in it.

00:47:01.840 --> 00:47:06.320
I mean, we just made like the cutest mini movie for our listing yesterday.

00:47:06.559 --> 00:47:12.320
And it like I got to do all of my favorite like entertainment skilled things yesterday.

00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:17.280
And you know, my writing comes in handy when I'm like really putting my marketing together.

00:47:17.440 --> 00:47:28.320
And my bigger picture, why, is to get to a place where I've like I've made decent capital as a realtor and I've reinvested that in real estate that can, you know, pay my day-to-day.

00:47:28.559 --> 00:47:38.800
And then I'm taking maybe a short week or two off to just write or just work on a show that I'm really interested in developing or work on a new book.

00:47:39.119 --> 00:47:47.280
So like I know like right now I'm kind of in the grind phase of recovery from all that happened.

00:47:47.360 --> 00:47:53.360
And so I do feel like I've got some like big chunks to make up for a little bit.

00:47:53.519 --> 00:48:00.880
But I did that, like I like I said, I got my license in April, maybe like May, was like by the time I hit the ground running, and it's October.

00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:05.679
And I'm like, okay, like I did better than I've done.

00:48:05.920 --> 00:48:10.320
I don't know, I only waited tables part-time, but I did it in LA, so I made decent money.

00:48:10.639 --> 00:48:16.079
And I've already made what I would have made in a year doing that in like just a couple months.

00:48:16.320 --> 00:48:23.119
And so I'm like, okay, now I can I can still put food on the table and I can start to think about things differently.

00:48:23.679 --> 00:48:41.679
And I will say, when you're coming off of a big like hit like the COVID crisis was for our family, I will say that was a piece that I I felt like I couldn't see the desperate, I I won't call it desperation, but there's urgency in finding a house and making the choices.

00:48:41.760 --> 00:48:49.440
And I'm really curious what it will be like to be able to approach a flip, a with all the things I've learned, but also with less of that.

00:48:49.840 --> 00:48:52.079
I have to, I have to find a house.

00:48:52.239 --> 00:48:53.039
I have to flip.

00:48:53.119 --> 00:49:01.920
I have to like if there's a little more comfort there that I'm like, okay, I can still take care of my bills and get, you know, get all that paid separately.

00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:08.719
And then this investment is like gravy on her taters, that that that makes more sense to me.

00:49:08.960 --> 00:49:10.159
That's what I want for myself.

00:49:10.239 --> 00:49:22.000
I know I could still do it, like you can still do it with zero dollars in other people's money, but I feel like we've been in that space of like financial, I don't even call it lack.

00:49:22.239 --> 00:49:22.800
I don't know.

00:49:22.960 --> 00:49:29.440
We were stretched really like far while my husband was in school and while we figured out our new transition to living.

00:49:29.760 --> 00:49:32.079
And that's not a fun place to be.

00:49:32.159 --> 00:49:35.440
I don't want to I don't want to hang out there anymore.

00:49:37.920 --> 00:49:49.599
So that's kind of like my big, my eagle eye view is to get to a place where I'm I'm flipping from abundance rather from what um and so there's a difference.

00:49:50.079 --> 00:49:56.480
I don't know that I would have made that, like I have reflected a lot on this flip because I really like to figure out like what was I responsible for?

00:49:56.639 --> 00:49:58.239
What would I have done differently?

00:49:59.280 --> 00:50:04.480
And there's like really very few things that I'm like, I couldn't have known these things.

00:50:04.639 --> 00:50:08.719
Like this general contractor came very well recommended.

00:50:08.800 --> 00:50:12.480
I had seen his work, I had him do smaller jobs for me.

00:50:12.559 --> 00:50:15.920
I had him walk through a property that we were working on for my mom.

00:50:16.079 --> 00:50:25.280
Like there were just those, I think there were some unfortunate things that happened in the growth of his business that maybe he couldn't handle all that growth at one time.

00:50:25.360 --> 00:50:30.239
And so my small project got back burnered or or whatnot.

00:50:30.559 --> 00:50:38.559
But there's just not much that I I think I would have done differently, except I now I'm like, I'm just I just know more.

00:50:38.719 --> 00:50:42.239
So I can't have to give him a brace for being like, we didn't know.

00:50:42.559 --> 00:50:45.119
So awesome.

00:50:45.280 --> 00:50:50.320
Well, thank you so much for being so vulnerable and sharing your story with us.

00:50:50.800 --> 00:51:06.159
It's just been very awesome to watch you through your journey and watch you, you know, through your perseverance uh and creativity to, you know, get that flip over and then find, you know, kind of like you just you found your calling in the real estate world.

00:51:06.320 --> 00:51:13.280
And what's cool to me is that like you get to bring all of your creative energy into another space and rock it out.

00:51:13.519 --> 00:51:17.760
Um, so just again, thank you so much for spending some time with us.

00:51:17.920 --> 00:51:19.199
I really appreciate it.

00:51:19.519 --> 00:51:20.000
Thank you.

00:51:20.159 --> 00:51:24.800
It was so nice to be here and to get to sit face to face with someone who helped me through it.

00:51:25.519 --> 00:51:30.480
Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the Flip Houses like a girl podcast.

00:51:30.639 --> 00:51:38.960
I hope you found some inspiration, practical takeaways, and maybe even your CEO Auror from Jessica's story.

00:51:39.199 --> 00:51:46.159
Remember, every successful flip starts with one brave decision to get in the game, and you don't have to do it alone.

00:51:46.400 --> 00:51:53.039
If you're ready to take the next step toward flipping your first house, we'd love for you to learn more about the Flip Sisters program.

00:51:53.360 --> 00:52:02.719
It's the leading coaching program and community designed specifically for women across the country who are ready to flip houses in their local markets.

00:52:02.960 --> 00:52:12.639
To connect with us, check out the program, or just get inspired by more stories like this one, visit us at www.theflipsisters.com.

00:52:12.880 --> 00:52:21.039
And as always, thank you for listening, subscribing, and sharing this podcast with other women who are ready to step into the world of flipping houses.

00:52:21.280 --> 00:52:27.599
Until next time, keep going, keep growing, and remember, you can absolutely do this.