Flip Files: The Starter House
Your Way Into Real Estate
Flip Files: The Starter House Lean, clean, and quick is the name of the flipping game! In this episode, Natalie shares details about her latest flip house –a detached starter family home flipped in 3 days for a substantial profit! “What is the least amount of work for the least amount of money, and the shortest amount of time that I can invest in this place to get a higher return? How much of an extra return am I able to get if I do more? Is it worth me doing?” Natalie’s flipping process is streamlined and very successful. Systems are meant to work over and over, and hers does the...
info_outline
Flip Files: How do you Decide What to Change?
Your Way Into Real Estate
Flip Files: How Do You Decide What to Change in a Flip? How do you decide what to renovate? What to let go? Where to spend your money? In this episode, Natalie Mitchell walks us through the best tips & tricks about renovating a flip, both big and small! “Some of the best returns I had on flips I spent almost nothing on.” A big misconception with flips is that adding high amounts of money adds the most value and increases the resale price. That is not the case. Of course, generally, the value goes up the more you invest, but there certainly is not a direct correlation. One...
info_outline
Property Management 101
Your Way Into Real Estate
Property Management 101 In this episode, Natalie is joined by her personal assistant Lihi Edelman to flesh out what exactly professional property managers do. There’s so much that goes on in their roles and each day brings new excitement and surprises! This past month, they've had 4 dishwasher leaks, 3 washing machines die within the same week, an exploding toilet, hallway bugs, and a water tank blow. So, what's their role in this? To do all the work so that the investor/owners don’t have to worry about a thing. This also includes tenant evictions, move-ins and outs,...
info_outline
Investing in Real Estate is Different for Everyone
Your Way Into Real Estate
Investing is Different for Everyone Everyone has a unique story of their entrance into Real Estate. In this episode, join Natalie as she interviews investor Tamara Gehring. Tamara shares her unique story of getting into the business of real estate investing and how she’s diversified her housing portfolio. Instead of selling a home when it was time for a new one, Tamara has turned all previous homes into rentals. She’s gone from being someone who owns rental properties through the traditional lending process, to becoming a lender herself! Eventually, the banks will say “no” to giving...
info_outline
The Funnier Side of Real Estate
Your Way Into Real Estate
The Funnier Side of Real Estate Real Estate is always serious. Sometimes the best stories come out of closings and working with a diverse set of clients. Join Natalie and Amy Skinner in a casual conversation of hilarious, offbeat and weird things that happen in real estate closings. “Most of the time, real estate closings go really well. One of the ten, some sort of problem happens. Frankly, money usually solves everything.” We don’t wish to spoil our stories in the show notes, but we’ll give you a taste of what to expect. What do you do if you discover a half million dollars in the...
info_outline
Building Series: Preserved Wood Foundations
Your Way Into Real Estate
Building Series: Preserved Wood Foundations Let’s stop the stigma around Preserved Wood Foundations. In this episode, Natalie is joined by Verlin Koch, a structural engineer for 45 years who specializes in preserved wood basements. A popular foundation technique in Calgary, you have nothing to fear when you see one in a house. So, what are Preserved Wood Foundations? They’re built of engineered wood that has been specially treated in a way that prohibits breakdown and insect burring, then frames the basement out of that material using special details, such as galvanized nailing. They...
info_outline
Building Series: After the Big Move
Your Way Into Real Estate
Building Series: After the Big Move This episode is dedicated to the end of the seemingly long journey. You’ve purchased your home and now it's ready! You think it’s as simple as getting your key and moving in, but there’s a lot more that goes on behind the scenes! Natalie speaks once more with Corey Mitchell, owner of Sticks and Stones Custom Homes, about the wrap-up after a client moves into their new home. Marketing a home to potential buyers is tough and staging is critical! You must get good sales representation. Realtors doing open houses, advertising, a spec sheet- anything...
info_outline
What is a Condo?
Your Way Into Real Estate
Building Series: What is a Condo? In case you didn’t know, condos are awesome! In this episode, Natalie demystifies the wonderful world of condo buying and condo living. From bylaws to insurance and condo specialists, all this information will help equip you for your first condo purchase. Condos are basically a group of people with a shared style of living. It can also be the cheapest way to enter the real estate market. In many cases, the entry point is significantly lower than townhouses or duplexes, with the price being a real attraction to first-time buyers. All condos have...
info_outline
Building Series: Draw Mortgages
Your Way Into Real Estate
Building Series: Draw Mortgages We’ve all heard about the traditional mortgage. But are you familiar with a better option if building a new construction? In this episode, Natalie and her guests discuss new construction and draw mortgages and how they differ from the everyday side of lending. In a draw mortgage, the dates of funding are different. Standard mortgages start funding the date you take possession of the home. In a draw, the fund starts at certain stages of the build process. Typically, it is your builder who determines the type of mortgage you will need. With a Draw...
info_outline
Building Series: Interior Design
Your Way Into Real Estate
Building Series: Interior Design In this episode, Natalie is joined by LeAnne Bunnell, an established Interior Designer in Calgary, Alberta. They discuss designing a home from the ground up, renovations, furnishings, and how to make your home unique to you! “Being a designer is like being a detective. You have to get into the psychology of the client and homeowner to figure out what they’re really getting after.” We interchange the words designer and decorator often, but there is a massive difference. To become an interior designer, you need a license and extensive training. If you...
info_outlineFlipping: Love It or List It? With guest flipper Marci
Natalie always says, “The key to a profitable flip is two ingredients: buy well and do NOT go over the budget.” In this episode, Marci joins Natalie to share stories from her flipping career, which spans 17 years and 27 flips in Calgary and Ottawa.
“I love being my own boss in flipping. I’m in control of my own destiny. It's freedom and it's a wonderful thing.”
Marci started out by purchasing properties as rentals and after a few years realized their potential as flips. After moving to Ottawa, she found a niche market and researched it – focusing on two sister buildings in Montreal. Now on her 8th flip within those buildings, she’s created a micro market by improving and raising the value of these specific buildings, one renovated unit at a time. Every flip she completes sells for more than other units in the buildings. She has been slowly and steadily raising the bar and the resale prices in this niche market.
With the challenges Covid restrictions introduced, Marci learned how to do most of her own construction work by watching YouTube. Now it’s easy! Once you DIY a few times, you can figure out ways to be more efficient. By the third unit, you are a pro! Marci has become the poster woman for sweat equity, gaining value by paying herself first.
“I do a better job than my other contractors because I actually care. It's my work and my property.”
You must humanize the property purchasing experience, as the highest offer is not always the winner. There are always emotional costs to selling and you need to bring that into your offers. Flipping provides freedom, your own schedule, and a full cut of the profits. You’ll never be happier or more fulfilled!