UPCLOSE & PERSONAL
ROOKIE INVESTOR
A bucket of semi-paste chemical stripper, a handheld sander, fresh paint, and hours upon hours of labor allowed us to re-use the original cabinets.
BEFORE
Lightening up the space with fresh paint, white cabinets, and white beveled subway tile, made the formerly dingy galley kitchen feel bigger and brighter.
AFTER
our hometown, Kansas City, Missouri, and set out to complete our very first investment property renovation. Over the past two months, we’ve chronicled our full journey on Think- Realty.com—including the trials (attempted robbery, time-consuming cabinet project, finding out paint sheens really do matter, choosing finishes without virtually any design know-how) and triumphs (finding awesome renters, installing a killer backsplash, NOT killing each other!). We finished our renovation with a sense of pride, a bunch of new memo- ries, and a hunger for more. And, most importantly, we found out that we truly love the process of creating a home for our renters—turning what was once an ugly property into a beautiful space for a family to do life. So, I’m checking “Flip a house” off of my bucket list, but I’m also adding “Flip another house” to it, because this rental definitely won’t be our last. Look out, Kansas City, we’re just getting started! •
The JourneyBegins WITH RENTERS NOW IN PLACE IN THEIR FIRST REHABBED RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY, COUPLE’S PATH IN REAL ESTATE INVESTING IS SET. BEFORE
AFTER
by Abby Tillman
Simple updates—new paint, light fixtures, shower- head, and mirror—freshened up the bathroom.
grown and changed since its inception that night. I’ve had to nix some items (it didn’t seem like “Marry JC Chasez from NSYNC” was really necessary to leave on there, once I met my now-husband, Lu- cas) and I’ve already accomplished others (shall I fully expose my NSYNC obsession and tell you I crossed off “see NSYNC in concert” TWICE?!) and I expect I’ll continue adding more as my tastes and priorities continue to grow and change. But one item has remained the same, and it’s the very first one on the list.
BEFORE
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a recurring series chronicling the tri- umphs—and a few trials—encountered by novice real estate investors (and land- lords) Abby Tillman and her husband, Lucas, who just completed the renova- tion of their first investment property. Tyler and Charlie while their parents went out for dinner and a movie, and after putting the boys to bed, I got to do every middle-school babysitter’s favorite thing: get paid $7/hour to watch TV. I quickly flipped past a “Seinfeld” re- run and a new episode of “The King of Queens” and instead settled on a show I’d never seen before. The premise was this: Two neigh- I still remember the night I made the list. I was babysitting for
bors switch homes for 48 hours and in that time—with the help of a designer, carpenter and $1000—they each re-do a room in the other family’s home. May- be you’ve heard of it? Yes. You’ve definitely heard of it. It was Trading Spaces, and I was hooked from the moment designer Lau- rie Smith convinced her team to paint their neighbor’s kitchen the color “elec- tric pear.” I happily consumed 3 “Trad- ing Spaces” episodes before Tyler and Charlie’s parents came home, and I left that night feeling full—my pockets with a freshly earned $35 and my mind with a whole new life plan. When I arrived home, I promptly climbed the stairs to my bedroom, took out my journal and wrote: “BUCKET LIST: (1) Flip a house.” As you’d expect, my bucket list has
1 FLIP A HOUSE
In fact, with adulthood, the desire to complete this item has only gained mo- mentum. And that’s why my husband and I bought a property in a cute area of
Abby Tillman chronicled her entire renovation journey at ThinkRealty.com. To read more, visit ThinkRealty.com/ RookieInvestor.
Doing all of the labor ourselves helped us finish this renovation $1,000 under budget!
66 | think realty magazine may :: june 2017
thinkrealty . com | 67
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