We are beyond excited here – I mean we ran around like chickens with no heads to get it all done and ready to list and then we had to wait.  I don’t know what was worse, the running around or the waiting!

There was a A LOT of interest in the property – I believe there were about 11 showings in 14 days.  Paul received his first offer this past Tuesday night,  by Wednesday at noon they had a signed contract and by about 8pm last night all of the conditions were waived and it was a done deal!

I know, I know you are dying to know if the financial part of the flip was as successful as the renovation part :)  Well I don’t have exact numbers to share – I haven’t had time to sort through all of the receipts! -  but I can tell you this…

The original purchase price was $148000

Renovations were approximately $10000-$13000

Total profit (taking all real estate fees into consideration) approximately $12000-$13000

Not bad!  Paul is happy to have this flip over and done with.  We are happy to have the experience which turned into a really great success story.  I don’t know about Vanessa, but I am eager to start on the laundry room and to keep my eye open for our first flip :)

Where do I even start here?  This project is a perfect addition to our portfolio because it was small enough that we could still maintain our normal work schedules, but big enough that we gained some essential experience in making budget conscious decisions as well as working on a deadline.  There is a little added pressure managing a flip when it’s someone else’s investment and I think that I was probably more conscious about the outcome than I might have been had it been our personal investment.

We really hit the jackpot with our contractor, Randy.  You hear so many horror stories of contractors ripping people off, doing less than quality work, not getting to the job site or finishing by the deadline.  Vanessa has known Randy for years (he is a regular at her classes at the gym) and hooked us up.  He is trustworthy, dependable and takes great pride in his finished product.  We look forward to a continued relationship with him and highly recommend giving him a call the next time you are in the market for a contractor! (btw, his bio and contact information will be posted very soon!)

It also helps to have a handy Dad :)  Thanks for all of your help and for giving me the opportunity to learn how to fix some unexpected problems along the way! (wink)

Here are some after pics of the condo – check out Flickr for a full set of before and after photos and/or see Paul’s Condo if you missed the project from the very beginning!

Paul had already replaced the kitchen cabinets and sink (installed by Randy) and purchased new appliances.  We finished the backsplash using inexpensive subway tile along with tumbled marble to add a little more detail and pizazz.   We also brought in a maple laminate that Paul had bought on sale at End of the Roll.

Not a great picture, but a better view of the backsplash.  We also replaced the ledge on the pass-through with a nice piece of marble.

We didn’t do much in the dining room.  The new floor in the kitchen was carried into the dining room and between Vanessa, my Mom’s store and myself we came up with enough items to decorate and stage.

Again, the living room didn’t need much work.  Paul had already had carpet installed throughout the living room and bedrooms.  We went to HomeSense and Vanessa’s living room to decorate and stage this room.

The Bathroom!  This might be my favorite end result.  Almost everything was replaced in here; new low flow toilet, new vanity with a marble counter top (which I’m pretty sure we have already raved about!) and a new light fixture.  The tub surround was re-tiled using subway tile and mosaic glass tile for detail.  Last but not least, we had the tub re-glazed – what a great, environmentally friendly and inexpensive fix!

The master bedroom received a makeover as well as some new closet doors.  What a difference those make!

And last but not least, the spare room.  If you remember the before, this room was cluttered with an over sized desk and a plethora of Paul’s ’stuff’.  Lucky for us, Paul was willing to part with most of the big stuff and move the rest to his storage locker.

Phew!  I’m tired just thinking about all of that work :)

Paul paid $148000 for his place in January 2009 and after all of his work and our work, it was appraised and is now listed at $189900!  WOW!

As for the budget – that might have to be another post lol.

Onward and forward…

The condo is finished and as indicated in the title of this post, it was a crazy and hectic process!  What I thought was going to be a weekend here and a weekend there project turned into a wild week and a half of construction including a gung-ho contractor, a spunky 1 year old and 2 excited, but very busy, real estate entrepreneurs :)

Lucky for us, we have found our perfect match in a contractor who quickly took us under his wing and walked us through each step of this renovation with a lot of patience, a little humility (yes Randy, Vanessa knows how to read a tape measure ;-p) and a lot of knowledge!

Stay tuned for more information on Randy from Redwin Contracting and how you can reach him.

The job is done :) Check us out on Flickr to see more pics of the renovation process and stay tuned for “The Big Condo Reveal” !!!

I have a lot of catching up to do here.  First of all, Paul’s Condo is DONE and on the market!  YAY!!!!!!  You can find it on MLS and/or wait another hour or 2 and everything will be posted here.  I will fill you in on all of the nitty gritty there on another post.

In the meantime I have been working away at my 2 jobs, trying my hand at golf, attending weddings, celebrating birthdays – all the while wondering “what next”.  What can I do next to launch me into the career and life I have always dreamed of ?!?  I’m “friends” with Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Dani Johnson, Louise L. Hay, Wayne Dyer and many more on my Facebook and my news feed is always full of  inspiring messages, quotes and affirmations; I am finding 3 common themes in what they have to say:

1.  In order to achieve the kind of success I am after I have to be willing to take risks, be willing to work hard and feel passion for what I am doing.

2. I am limited only by my own beliefs.

3. There is a gift in everything that happens in my day to day life (even the yucky stuff), look for it, find the abundance and be grateful for it.

Thanks to all of my “friends” on Facebook (lol) I plan to stress less, be thankful and grateful for what I have in my life today, state my intentions and let the rest take care of itself.  I surrender!

Yesterday was Conor’s birthday and since he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, I didn’t think it fair to make him a cake for his special day.  What he does enjoy are chips.  So without further a due I present to you the chip cake…

I think the universe heard Conor’s passion for chips loud and clear, don’t you?

Although I’m exhausted, I took on the large task of reorganizing the closets.  I thought we were going to do the front hall closet, which was a disaster of organization.  We then added the master bedroom and hall shoe closet.  Although they are far from being complete, the basic structures are in place, which is quite exciting.  The house itself is in a state of disarray.  All the odds and ends, that you’re not sure whether to keep or where to put are all over the place.  It’s driving me crazy!

I have a ton of pictures from before and during.  Just need to complete the work for the after!  Be sure to stay posted…

Life is busy.  Life is full of choices.  I have been going through this process of trying to make a living from what I am passionate about, and I am very confident that I am heading in that direction… but WHY can’t it all happen NOW!  Those who know me know that I am not a patient person &  I never have been. I want what I want and I want it yesterday!  Not in a spoiled brat kind of way, more in a “this is amazing and I cannot wait another second for it to happen!”  kind of way.  Unfortunately this has resulted in a few bad choices along the way… but I’m learning ;-)

Here is my frustration.  I want to educate myself more in the Real Estate and/or Interior Design world.  While I feel a natural kind of instinct in these areas, realistically if I want to make a living and be ultra successful I have to learn about the industry and be just as or more knowledgeable than  the other guy.  So I have been looking at programs and schools and correspondence courses and it all takes so much time!

An Interior Design program is at least 2 years, a Real Estate Agent program is about 1 year but if I understand correctly it takes quite some time and a somewhat hefty investment to become established.  I don’t think that 1-2 years is an unreasonable amount of time to further my education and experience, but I am on the fence because I would have to somehow continue to develop PinkWorkBoots and continue to perform with quality and dependability at my other jobs.

Plus, I have just finished paying off ALL of my debt and it’s the funniest thing… I don’t want to spend money! How crazy is that!?!  I have been quite enjoying doing these projects and spending other peoples money.  If I decide to go back to school or take a program, I have to spend my money.  Too bad I can’t earn credit by spending hours and hours watching HGTV :-p

ARGH!

Throughout this somewhat frustrating thought process I have kept one thing in mind – “The path to success is to take massive, determined action.” Tony Robbins

I am certainly determined – I guess it’s time for the massive part of the action.

Apart from all of these choices, I have also been busy making lots of other choices over at the condo!  We had our Realtor come in for an appraisal and it went really well!  Better than we expected in fact – be sure sure to check back this weekend for the update :)

Needless to say, I haven’t been able to spend much time at the Condo or helping with the laundry room (which I’ve been dying to get my hands on…)  Becky has been the best, bringing us dinner, waiting with us through the surgery, taking care of Ava and keeping up the work end of things on all accounts.  I don’t know what I would have done without her.

As my dad says, you definitely know who your friends are at times like this.  Thanks for everything Beks…  we all love you!

I admit it was a tad stressful doing a project for my boyfriend.  He is a little more on the frugal side which is usually a good thing lol but when it comes to things he does not feel are practical – forget it!  So when he offered $500 for his budget and then listed the things he wanted for the office (including 5 new pieces of furniture!) we had to have a bit of a conversation.  I really pushed his limit when I asked for double :)  However, he gave in & then I asked for his trust I got that too.  I tucked away $250 and gave us a budget of $750.

I love a good deal, but admittedly I never really find them (or rather I don’t spend the time looking).  My sister Jen is ALWAYS finding great deals and therefore always looks funky and well put together.  Me, I live in lululemon.  So it was a new challenge for me to make the most out of someone else’s money!  Lucky for me, Vanessa has already been through the whole renovating and redecorating process with her condo and knows how stretch a dollar so off we went and settle on one price we did not!

Our first great decision was to try out BEHR Premium Plus Ultra – a newer product from Behr that is a paint and primer in one.  Because of our time restraint and the insulting color on the walls, this was a perfect option!  The guy at The Home Depot assured me that 1 gallon would do the job (100 sq ft room) and it was just enough.

Next stop IKEA!  Great style at great prices.  We needed a desk (for writing only), a chair for Conor’s patients, a shelf for text books and storage and a dolly for the ultrasound unit.  This is the challenge, get the furniture with enough left over to accessorize!  It felt as though we walked around in a hundred circles – from chairs to desks, to shelves, back to chairs, to units on castors and then back to desks… phew! We found everything we needed (including a wicked chair for a discount) and then some!  We were feeling good!

Then it was storage and accessories.  Solutions was the perfect place for baskets and hampers, Michaels had an amazing sale on frames (which was great because we needed 5!) and HomeSense was our last stop for our finishing touches like the desk organizer and decorations.

I was looking for images from Body Worlds for some artwork, however, in their attempt to keep all of their images anatomically correct they’ve exempt themselves from being utilized as business appropriate artwork ;)  I found the finishing touch on  AllPosters.ca – a sketch by Pierre Jean David d’Angers called Human Anatomy, Muscles of the Torso and Shoulder.

THE GRAND TOTAL

Paint & Supplies              $59.36

Furniture                           $375.32

Document Frames         $125.50

Storage & Accessories  $231.05

TOTAL                              $791.23

So we went over our own budget by $41.23 – we left the tags on some things so that if Conor felt it was an unnecessary purchase he could return it.  However, once he got in the room, he was blown away and finally understood  the importance of  “finishing” the room.

All said and done it was a great first project!  Vanessa & I learned how to work together on someone else’s budget and Conor learned the value of investing in his space.

Now to finish the condo and the laundry room…

Oh and with the best of luck, fingers and toes crossed, our laundry room marble was still available!  It is going to be so beautiful!  I’m already trying to think of where I could use the last few square feet available at the store…  that’s how much I love it.  See Rebecca’s blog for pics.

It is quite amazing how much small details and a few hundred dollars can make.  They always say the quickest way to change a room is with paint.  I certainly agree but have to say that new tile with a fabulous mosaic detail has made the world of difference in the condo’s bath.  I must add that NO ONE should ever use a colour other than white for fixtures such as sinks, toilets, fridges and stoves….  Almond – so close to white yet so dirty looking.

State my opinion why don’t I?

Before we can get into the fun stuff, there was still some mudding and taping to do so I finished all of that (with a little help from Conor and a refresher course from Dad).  Next I’ll have to go back and sand the first coat and then add a second.

Here’s the fun stuff!  Vanessa & I went to Eden Tile It last week to pick up some samples.  Mom wants glass mosaic tile for the back splash of the folding table & laundry tub.  Well, we picked out some samples and then we saw it.  Actually, I saw it, stroked it, kept walking and a minute later Vanessa came running up to me with it in her hands.

A beautiful marble tile that was ON SALE! You can’t appreciate it’s true beauty without seeing it and holding it in your hands.  There is white, blue, yellow, green… all of the colors that we had been searching for in perfect little synchronized circles.  Magic.

But Mom wants glass, so we signed out the glass samples, bought a sheet of the marble and left the store with our fingers crossed that she would love it as much as we do and that it will still be there after the weekend!

Well, Mom loves it.  In fact I had to talk some sense into her as she was prepared to spend most of her $2000 budget on the tile alone!  We have figured out where it will go and now it’s a waiting game to see if it’s still there Tuesday morning (Monday’s a holiday, right? Ugh!).  And oh ya… we also picked out some cork flooring (that we will order from Russ at End of the Roll of course).

So until Tuesday…