We sold our North Minneapolis flip house this past Thursday December 23 2009 and it was a picture perfect end to a great story.
We got an offer on our house less than two weeks after it went onto the MLS. After some very typical negotiations we came to an agreement. Due to federal regulations, any “flip” house that receives an offer with FHA financing needs to have at least 90 days (seasoning period) between one owner to the next. This is a rule that went into effect to protect potential buyers from investors who were simply trying to make very quick cash and typically were not doing any significant work to improve the home for the prices they were asking. So, even though we remodeled this house inside and out, top to bottom, and have receipts to prove it, we still have to abide by this rule if we were to consider an offer with FHA backed financing. This meant that we had to “hold” the house about a month longer than we would if we had worked with a conventional loan or a cash buyer which meant additional out of pocket money for us and with our early Minnesota snow falls, a lot of shoveling!
Of course, our buyer’s were smart and hired a professional home inspector to take a look at the home. The inspector was very impressed with the work and there were a few very minor things that we put the finishing touches on for our buyers. We did end up meeting our buyers in advance of the sale which is pretty unusual. We were thrilled to meet them and thought they were the perfect fit for our home! We were also really happy when the first time home buyer federal tax credit got extended so that our buyers could take advantage of that as well!

This transaction showed us that not only is a home flip a good investment opportunity for us but also seeing the glow on our buyer’s faces at the closing table confirmed our joy in knowing that our “flip” is now providing a great home so this couple can get started on the right foot.

Overall, flipping a home in North Minneapolis was a great experience for us and after the holiday and a nice well deserved vacation, we will be on to our next one!

Keep in mind….house flipping is not a “get rich quick” plan. There is a lot of risk involved – please refer back to my first post about our North Minneapolis house flip for more information.

Jen McKinnon
Realtor / Investor
Agent Referral Network
MN Real Estate Team

612.384.1073
jen[at]mnrealestateteam[dot]com