They Bought a Huge Ridge House Overlooking the Valley That Needs Love, But a Flip Would Only Pay $50,000 to $60,000 So They Chose Another Plan

The house sits on a ridge with a view over the whole valley, and it needs love. It is big, at over 3,000 square feet, with old growth trees outside and a long line of back windows that frame the view. Two real estate investors bought it, and now they had to decide what to do with it. The obvious answer was to fix it up and flip it. They looked at the numbers and chose a different plan.

A fixer-upper ridge house video cover beside a stock photo of a mountain valley with a distant house.

The decision plays out in an episode from the @lukeandclint channel, where the two partners walk through the house on Chinden Ridge and talk through their options out loud.

A Big House With A Bigger View

They explain that the house came to them through their own advertising to buy homes, and they grabbed it quickly. Inside, the front door opens onto a railing and the kitchen right away, with three bedrooms off to one side in their own wing, along with a living area and a big dining room.

The back of the house is the star. Every room on that side has a view of the valley, and one partner calls it a killer view. Below the property, there is a gravel pit that is only temporary. The partners say the plan is for it to become a series of lakes, with a community built around them over time. They also love the fireplace, the original hardwood floors under some newer flooring, and the old built-in drawers in the bedrooms.

Not everything is charming. One bathroom serves the whole bedroom wing and needs a complete gut job, no matter what they decide. The pool will need some attention too, though they were told the previous owner had it running last season.

Why They Passed On The Flip

The first idea on the table was a flip. They would renovate the house and sell it. But when they ran the numbers, a flip would probably pay around $50,000 to $60,000, and that was the number that settled it for them. The house is expensive because of its location and its size, and by the time they spent money on the pool, the floors and the kitchen, they would likely see only $50,000 to $100,000 in profit.

One of them is careful about the word only. That is a lot of money, they say, but not for all the work involved and the money tied up in the project. In their words, this is not a fix and flip for them.

Thinking Beyond The Quick Sale

Instead, they looked at the value of all the payments the house could bring in over time. They figured that the total from long term rentals or short term rentals would far exceed the $50,000 or $60,000 they would make on a renovation flip.

They talked through several ways to use the house. They could rent it by the month, or split it into more than one monthly rental. The layout lends itself to that, with a bedroom wing, a kitchen, a dining room and living areas that could be separated. They could also use it as a nightly rental. With the pool and the view, they guessed that a nightly rate of $400 to $500 might be possible, with the house rented about two thirds of the month. A mix of the two was on the table too. They could add a second kitchen on one side, rent that half monthly, and use the three bedrooms, kitchen, dining and living area on the other side for nightly stays.

A Flip Is Not Just A Profit Number

Their reasoning offers a good lesson for anyone looking at a fixer upper. The profit on a flip is the number left over after the purchase price, the repairs, the carrying costs and the selling costs. On a large, high priced house, the repair bill can be large too, and a project like this one can eat up money and months for a modest return.

A rental works differently. Instead of one payout, it produces income over many years, and the property can keep growing in value. It also comes with work of its own, including managing tenants or guests, keeping the place clean and handling repairs. A plan that looks good on paper still has to fit the time and energy of the people running it.

Questions To Ask About Your Own Fixer Upper

If you are looking at a home that needs love, a few questions can keep you out of trouble.

What would a flip really pay? Subtract all repairs, fees and carrying costs from the likely sale price.
Could it earn money over time? Look at what monthly or nightly rentals might bring in your area.
Does the layout offer choices? A house that can be split into separate living areas gives you more ways to use it.
What has to be fixed no matter what? Kitchens, bathrooms, pools and floors drive the budget.
Can you manage it? Rentals mean ongoing work, even with good tenants or guests.

The Takeaway

The partners did not turn their backs on the house. They looked at what it could be and decided that a steady stream of payments beat a one time profit of $50,000 to $60,000. Whether that plan works out will depend on the market and on how well they carry it out.

But the idea behind it applies to anyone buying a home that needs work: do not stop at the flip. Take a good look at the other ways the house can earn its keep before you pick up a hammer.

Willow and Hearth