THE IVY COTTAGE IS LIVE!

After exactly eleven weeks since the purchase of the Ivy Cottage, its listing is live on the MLS! It’s a small gem in an upcoming neighborhood, a perfect starter home for a growing family. The before and afters show the drab, two-bed home and overgrown yard transformed to a tasteful, Pacific Northwest cottage. 

Check out the Redfin listing here, listed at $414,000.

If you know me personally or followed along on my first flip last year, you know that I was waist deep in self-managing that project. I was coordinating permits and inspections, managing up to ten sub-contractors and filling in any gaps myself— demoing, caulking, cleaning, installing hardware and painting touch-ups. Not this time! The invaluable knowledge I gained during that process taught me how to passively manage the project this time and work closely with a trusted general contractor who could provide the services within my budget. 

From Rendering to Reality

In the business of real estate, you have to plan for the unknown— there will always be hiccups in construction that you didn’t account for, so building in a contingency in your budget is a must! While each project is different, there may inevitably be lessons learned, a few mistakes, and a couple of ‘oh s%!ts’.  Here’s a few pro-tips learned from the Ivy Cottage and the motto that got me through them— improvise, adapt, and overcome!

Successes & Hiccups

In the business of real estate, you have to plan for the unknown— there will always be hiccups in construction that you didn’t account for, so building in a contingency in your budget is a must! While each project is different, there may inevitably be lessons learned, a few mistakes, and a couple of ‘oh s%!ts’.  Here’s a few pro-tips learned from the Ivy Cottage and the motto that got me through them— improvise, adapt, and overcome!

• Shower valve | When re-tiling a shower, always replace and upgrade the shower valve. Ensure that you have the shower trim and compatible valve purchased before the tile-sub arrives!

• Water heater | Don’t just trust that it ‘looks’ functional. Run it and make sure it has no leaks. Or else you’ll have some unexpected costs (and a little water spewing on your floor).

• Cabinets / counters | Old houses are rarely perfectly level! Once the cabinets are level, ensure that the standard counter depth still works. While the contractor leveled the cabinets, due to the unlevel floor in some areas, the cabinet was further from the wall than the counters could accommodate. Always budget a little extra time to review the cabinets with the GC before scheduling the counter install.

• Crawl Space Insulation | Go into the crawl space during your walkthrough! Much of our insulation had fallen and was deteriorating, so we had to do a full crawl space clean out, plus attach new insulation. 

Stay tuned for details of the sale in the coming weeks!

See you on the flip side,

refern (aka Rachel)