New Year, New Blog
Happy 2021! You know how the saying goes: New year, new blog. No, that’s not it? Hmm. Well, that is what we are going with this year!
I’m Cassie Shankweiler and I live in a never-ending renovation in downtown West Chester, PA with my husband, Jamie, and Golden Retriever, Hobie. 5 years ago, Jamie bought his first flip house for a whopping $27,000 to see if there was really a way to make money by investing in properties. Fast forward to the present day and we are about to list our fourth flip home for sale and have two other properties waiting in the wings: A 4-unit apartment building and a long-term project of a huge warehouse we are turning into an event venue.
Over the last 5 years, Jamie and I have learned A LOT. Jamie is a jack of all trades and is basically a professional at all of them. That being said, we hire contractors for a minimum number of tasks, and Jamie and Tom, our on-site carpenter, handle the rest. They generally do the demo, framing, drywalling, plumbing, electric, tiling, hardwood flooring – the list goes on and on. Some tasks he would definitely rather sub out to contractor (hello drywall), but it has certainly taught him a lot and each house.
After we bought two flip houses in January of 2020, we decided it was the time one of us became a real estate agent. I have always had an interest in becoming an agent for my pure love of houses, so I took the challenge. I earned my license right before the world shut down in March. In Pennsylvania, that meant real estate shut down as well – great timing! We persevered and were able to list the first of our two 2020 houses once real estate opened back up in May. It was my first real estate listing and the home went under contract in one day! The market has been crazy ever since and we cannot wait to get our second flip house of 2020 on the market in the middle of January 2021.
The goal of this blog is to share the things we are learning along the way. From flipping and investing tips, renovation how-to’s, and design ideas – we can’t wait to share it all.
C & J
