Sweet Tea Properties has purchased a variety of holdings for a variety of different reasons and outcomes. One of our first acquisitions was an older home that needed to be totally remodeled (fix and flip) and we recently sold it for a substantial profit. We learned a lot of lessons and today I want to talk about finding the purpose for a house/room/area before you begin looking for paint colors and design features. I like to spend some time walking through a house and imagining what the next owners will be doing in each room. I do this with each property as a whole, but also with individual rooms and outdoor areas.

In our Coastal Cottage property we had a very “interesting” man cave room that was formerly the garage. I knew that was not the best purpose for the room, but it took me a while to decide which direction to take. I ended up with a multi-generational guest room (possible adult child or elderly parent) because it was separate from the other bedrooms, had its own bathroom and could easily have its own private entrance. Once the purpose was set, I had good direction and was able to move on into the designer elements–my favorite part.

In our Coastal Cottage property we had a very “interesting” man cave room that was formerly the garage. I knew that was not the best purpose for the room, but it took me a while to decide which direction to take. I ended up with a multi-generational guest room (possible adult child or elderly parent) because it was separate from the other bedrooms, had its own bathroom and could easily have its own private entrance. Once the purpose was set, I had good direction and was able to move on into the designer elements–my favorite part.

We removed all the hunting trophies and replaced the worn carpet, but after some consideration, we decided to keep and paint the acoustic ceiling (Sherwin Williams Alabaster White). We painted the walls the same as the rest of the house (Sherwin Williams Repose Gray) and we updated the bathroom, again, to match the rest of the house. Many decisions were much easier after the purpose was set. For example, to change out the acoustic ceiling would have been expensive, but with the purpose being set  for a possible long-term adult, it made sense to keep it for absorbing the noise from a personal sound system or television.

This is just one of the many lessons we learned along the way and are still learning as we develop even more properties. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas at info@karenconrad.net. Send us a note and check out my 15 Remodeling Tips for Under $500.

Be Purposeful,

Karen Conrad