DESIGNANDTHE BOTTOMLINE
While investors traditionally are encouraged to remain inside a fairly unremark- able “box” when it comes to design decisions, Ken and Anita like to push the limits in their remodeling designs. “Historically, investors stay neutral because you do not know what a buyer will really like in a house. You use the same materials over and over because they are safe. Buyers know that now, though, and we find that we are nearly always rewarded with a higher dollar amount when Anita goes outside the box creatively with her design decisions on our flips,” Ken said. “It’s important to remember that you are still an investor, though,” Anita added. “You are not designing for a homeowner. You are designing for an imaginary buyer.” Here are a few of the Corsinis’ design suggestions for investors: "YOU MAY NOT KNOWYOUR BUYER, BUT YOU CAN GET TO KNOWYOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.” – ANITA Anita recommends always walking the street of the neighborhood whenever possible. “You cannot just look at a picture of a house if you are going to design this way. You have to get a feel for the neighborhood.” For example, the two recently painted a flip an unconventional color, green (as seen below). “That would not have
worked in every neighborhood, but we were working in a neighborhood with a lot of historical charm,” Anita ex- plained. “You can’t paint a house green if it is located in suburbia and every- thing is brick, but in this location the color made the house look brand new while retaining the historic charm.” “ACCENTUATE THE HOME'S CHARACTER.” – KEN As it becomes harder to locate new- er homes that fit the parameters for a profitable flip in many hot markets, a lot of older neighborhoods are prime locations for fix-and-flip investors.
“We are always evolving, and this is a prime example,” Ken observed. “For example, we recently picked up a whole handful of townhouses. Some of those will definitely play into one of our newer investing tactics: Airbnb rentals.” He continued, “We do not maintain a massive rental portfolio, but we do have a number of Airbnbs right now.” Ken noted Airbnb is an ideal fit for any investor who is holding a property longer than planned and for investors experiencing shifts in their local markets that may be affecting their planned timelines. “People do not realize you do not need a premier location in order to run a really successful Airbnb investment,” he said. “For example, in our area, there are not a lot of hotels and we’re not really a big tourist destination, but there are a lot of kids’ sports tournaments. People come up here with their families and need a
“Accentuate that old bannister. Build up that old front porch to be the best front porch (see porch and swing staging above) in the neighborhood,” Ken said.
“DON’T BE AFRAID TO PUSH THE LIMITSWITH DESIGN.” – ANITA One thing that sets Anita’s design decisions apart from those of most other investors is that she is willing to push the limits with color, texture, and pattern. “With an investment property, it is definitely a question of balance,” she said. “You want to go just far enough outside the box where you do not look cookie cutter but still appeal to a wide enough audience that you have plenty of potential buyers.” The two recently received an unexpected payoff for their willingness to get creative: One of their projects was written up in a local real estate magazine as an example of what real estate investors can do with design. “They made particular note of the fact that we are investors and we did the rehab and design ourselves,” Anita said. Many of the Corsinis’ favorite projects are featured on their television series, Flip or Flop: Atlanta. You can view episodes past and present at HGTV.com/fliporflopAtlanta or see their portfolio of work at RedBarnHomes.com.
24 | think realty magazine :: september 2018
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