The three things that made us buy it
Not every gutted house is worth buying. The math has to work, and the hidden costs have to be manageable. On Travis Pine, three of the biggest unknowns were already off the table before we made an offer.
"Three things that I don't like doing, and if they're already done, I'm definitely gonna buy it at the right price: windows, roof, HVAC."
When those three are already handled, you know your two biggest risk categories, structure and systems, are not going to blow the budget. That is the kind of due diligence that separates a calculated flip from a gamble. Everything else on this property was cosmetic or layout work, and that is exactly where we want to spend our money.
Fixing a floor plan that did not make sense
The original layout had a wall cutting the kitchen off from the living room. That wall ran from one side of the room to roughly the center of the floor. It came out. Now the kitchen and living room read as one open space, which is what buyers in this price range expect.
The fireplace was already there and it anchors the room. An island goes in front of it, with a sink and dishwasher inside the island and the stove against the back wall. Quartz countertops go throughout. The island placement was measured against the wall, the living room behind, and the hallway to make sure clearance worked on all sides.
On the other side of a picture frame wall, the family room connects to a dining area. A sliding door is being swapped for a French door. A light drops in the center of the dining space. The laundry room is large and got a 36-inch door. A farmhouse-style door priced out at $200. A standard replacement was $80 to $100. We went standard. That is the kind of small call that protects the budget without affecting what a buyer sees.
The exterior: color, material, and first impressions
The angular shape of this house is unusual. We replaced siding on the outer sections with board and batten to handle the geometry and give the exterior some texture. The front door is a beechwood, natural wood color. Porch posts will go black.
Paint color is still being decided. Accessible beige is the current lean over alabaster. The reasoning is practical: pure white can make a house look flat and shallow. A warmer off-white or beige gives the exterior more visual weight, and it fits where color trends are moving right now.
Seven seconds to make it count
Lighting is where a lot of flippers cut corners. We do not. Recessed lighting runs across the main living area. A statement light drops in the center of the room, directly above the fireplace. Budget for that fixture is $250 to $300.
"When a buyer walks in that front door, I've got about seven seconds to wow them and catch their attention so they can fall in love with this house. It ain't gonna happen once they get back over there or in the bedrooms. It must happen when they come in that door."
That first impression is the fireplace, the island, and the light working together. In the hallway, the old flush mount light comes out and recessed cans go in. It sounds like a small detail.
"If you have a hallway in your house and you have enough square footage, use the can or the recessed lights. Don't have anything hanging. It's gonna look nice and clean and professional."
Clean lines in a hallway cost very little extra and they change how the whole house feels as a buyer moves through it.
The primary suite: closet over square footage
The primary bedroom decision came down to a choice. We could extend the room into the adjacent space, or we could give the owners a large walk-in closet. We chose the closet.
The layout gives the husband a smaller closet, roughly four to five feet wide, and the wife a full walk-in with hanging racks on the right side and shoe racks on the left. A decorative light hangs down the center of the walk-in. A farmhouse sliding door closes it off.
The primary bathroom has tile floors and tile in the shower that runs all the way to the ceiling, then wraps about a quarter of the way up the surrounding wall. There is only room for a single vanity, which is not ideal for a house this size. It is an honest limitation of the footprint, and we are not pretending otherwise.
The carrying costs: two HVAC systems running
The addition on this property created two separate zones, so the house has two HVAC systems. Both are running to keep the work crew comfortable during the renovation. Usual electric on a flip runs $70 to $80 a month. With two units, it is coming in at $130 to $150. Not a budget breaker, but it adds up over a three-week-plus timeline, especially when two other projects are running at the same time.
Nothing about flipping homes is perfect. The delays are real. The extra costs are real. The goal is to see them clearly and manage them, not to pretend they do not happen.
If you are thinking about investing in Augusta, or you want to see what the numbers look like on a project like this, reach out to the team and ask about current opportunities. A free Zoom call is a good place to start.