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Before eleven, they were both done, and they left the office to meet their real estate agent for lunch.
They went to the Olive Garden that was a short distance from her office and met with a married couple, who both worked for the same agency. “I know you guys will need to look through my house to come up with what you think we should ask for it, and I’ll base what kind of home we want to buy on that amount,” Nate said. “I want something bigger and nicer this time. Well, it can be bigger and crappier, but in a good neighborhood, because I’ll make it nicer.”
Shelia, the wife, looked at Shelby. “You don’t have any opinions about it?”
Shelby shrugged. “I trust Nate. He’s the one flipping houses. I can live just about anywhere. I just moved from a house I shared with three other women in a rundown neighborhood near the teaching hospital where we all worked. I can survive anywhere.”
Shelia nodded, making a quick note on the pad in front of her. “There’s a house from the old part of town that was absolutely the most beautiful house in town, but it’s fallen into disrepair. Now the family is selling it because the mother who has lived there for her entire married life is going into a nursing home. They want the house to pay for as much of their mother’s care as possible.”
Nate nodded. “Sounds like a good place to start. What are they asking?”
“Six-seventy-five, which I know is a lot, but I think you’ll get close to that for the house you’re in, and then small payments. And this house will go for millions once it’s fixed up.”
He nodded, obviously thinking seriously about it. Shelby was surprised he was willing to spend that much, or that he even was able to spend so much, but she knew he was wise with his finances. He always had been. “Let’s look at it.”
“Good!” Shelia said. “I think it’s the perfect flip house for someone with your skills.”
“Let’s drive by ours first,” Nate said. “If you don’t think I can get at least six for it, then I don’t think I’ll be willing to sink that kind of money into it.”
“Of course,” Shelia said. Her husband appeared to be just along for the ride.
Shelia and Rick followed Nate and Shelby to the house they lived in. While he drove, Nate explained, “Shelia sold me this house and the last six I’ve flipped. It takes me about two years to make most of them ready for someone else. I work through the winters, and even have to bring the crew in at times, but I keep buying more expensive homes and selling them. It’s working for me.”
“I had no idea that sort of thing was so lucrative!”
“I’ve been doing this since we were about twenty,” he said. “I started with a house that was just over fifty thousand, and sold it for eighty-five. After that, it just made sense to keep doing it. I seriously love the work, and with my sister’s help, I’ve always turned a nice profit.”
He pulled into the driveway, and the other couple pulled in behind them. “They’re going to check out the whole house, but they aren’t going to be bothered if something is a little messy, so don’t worry as you see them going into our bedroom and kitchen.”
“I’ve never owned a house to sell it. I’m glad to hear they’re thorough.”
When they went inside, the older couple went from room to room, making notes, and finally came back down. “You’ll get six hundred for this easy. What did you pay? I’m thinking it was less than three hundred.”
Nate nodded. “And I put about two hundred into it and lived here for two years. Not too shabby.”
“Not at all,” Shelia said. “Can I list it immediately?”
He nodded. “Sounds good to me. Would be nice if we were in a new place by winter.”
“The home I’m going to show you first is the one I think you’ll want. It’s one of the older homes, in an older ritzy neighborhood, and it needs a ton of work. There’s a pool, but it’s overgrown and gross.”
“Let’s go see it then!” Nate said.
When they got into the car, Shelby asked him, “We want a house with a gross pool?”
“It won’t be gross when I’m finished with it,” he said. “The whole point in doing this is to make money off them, and the nicer the house to start with, the more it will go for. Being in one of the older neighborhoods will give it more value. You’ll see.”
They followed the other couple to the house they were thinking about, and Nate looked at it from the outside with a huge smile. “This will go for two million when I’m done with it.”
“You think?” she asked. The windows were dirty and everything about it was rundown.
“I bet it has good bones. Houses that were built in this time period always have good bones.”
They got out and walked up to the front door, and Shelia unlocked it with the key in the lockbox. As they walked through the house, she explained that the matron of the family, who was in the nursing home had advanced Alzheimer's. “No one was visiting much because she’d been angry, so they didn’t realize how bad it was getting or how rundown the house had become. When her doctor called her oldest son and told him it was time for her to go to a nursing home, he was really upset with himself with how bad the house looked.” She shook her head. “But she’s in one of those nursing homes with a sixties restaurant that does sock hops every other week. The residents love it there, and they think they still live in the sixties, so it’s good for all of them.”
“I’m glad she ended up in a good place,” Shelby said. “I have worked with Alzheimer's patients, and they are always so confused. That type of home is the best place for them in my opinion.”
“What do you do?” Shelia asked.
