MY MAT-LEAVE FLIP
During my mat-leave in 2005 the Calgary real estate market was going nuts and I decided it was time for a new project. I looked for a new investment property in my favorite neighborhoods but competition was fierce. Then my mom told me the house next door to her had been empty since the owner had passed away a year earlier, but wasn’t on the market. Right up my alley! I contacted the individual who had inherited the property and made an offer. After some quick negotiations we settled on a price and an agreement to let her leave an old car in the garage while I renovated. I applied for a Homeowner Renovation Permit and developed my plans. Over the next three months, I led a bungalow make-over from top to bottom. New main floor kitchen and bathroom, refinished hardwood and new paint throughout. In the undeveloped basement, I added two bedrooms, bathroom, family room and enlarged windows. Interestingly, one evening when I was working alone on final details, I felt a strange presence and decided it was time to call it a night. An impromptu smudging followed a few days later and 4932 Worcester Drive was on the market. Six months from my initial purchase date, a new family took possession and my successful flip was complete! Hard work, fortuitous market timing, and a great sense of accomplishment for a person like me who loves to tackle residential design improvements, make deals and manage projects! Not the most lucrative work I’ve ever done, but some of the most satisfying!