Creative Spaces- "Flipping" house no. 4

Hi my name is Gretchen Wheeler and I live in Erie, Pa. Almost 3 years ago, my husband and I got tired of just watching the "house flipping" shows, and decided it was our turn to try it. With many years of owning our own businesses, we were pretty confident that we could do it. Of course, after being a hairstylist for more than 15 years, I'd never used a drill, and had NO idea what plaster and lathe even was. And Randy, although he knew how to use a drill, he wasn't exactly "Mr. Fix-it". Fortunately, my dad, Jerry Funk ,had been living in and "flipping" every home we've ever lived in. He was always working on some project or another around the house, and we knew he'd be up for a challenge. My good friend and realtor, Suzanne St. John, has shown us many a house filled with dog pee and poop, ancient carpet, no heat or electric, and many other scary encounters. We have loved every minute of it!- the worse the house smells, the more we say "it smells of money"! Don't get me wrong, we have NOT seen the huge profits that you see on the TV shows. Our housing market never really experienced the inflated prices that were seen in other parts of the country, so we haven't had nearly the hardship the housing markets in other areas have seen lately. They also don't show you on TV how much these poor flippers pay in taxes (plus utilities while working, realtor fees, etc). As we start our 4th house, I thought it would be fun to do a blog on it, updating our progress as we move along. If you have any questions about flipping houses, home staging, or interior decorating, check out my website and you may email me at http://www.creativespaceserie.com/.