Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are most houses.  But you’d have to admit that only seventy-four days is quite the quick turn-around for a completely renovated house!

I found this new listing on MLS the other day and I had deja-vu.  I wondered, “Wasn’t this just on the market?”

It was, and the owners have renovated it and are now going to flip it…

At the risk of being charged with “unauthorized advertising” by the good folks at the Toronto Real Estate Board, I’m going to simply refer to this house as “WestBrick” since it is a house in the west end and the owners cleaned up the brick rather nicely.  For those of you that already know which house this is, just don’t tell anybody…

WestBrick is one of my favorite streets in the Little Italy and surrounding area.  There are only houses on the west side of the street since they sit directly across from Fred Hamilton Playground, meaning there are no other houses to stare at – just green space.

I love houses that are close to a park, ravine, or green space, but it’s even better when you sit directly across the street from one!  There’s something quite soothing about waking up in the morning and seeing Mother Nature’s creations outside your window.

I saw this house on WestBrick when it first came onto the market during the summer.

It was awful.

It didn’t say “estate sale” or “foreclosure” on MLS, but it sure looked the part!

The words “Great opportunity for a complete reno” that appeared in the MLS listing must have struck a chord with somebody, because that’s exactly what the buyer did.

On August 11th, the property listed at $549,000 sold in multiple offers for $592,000.  Clearly somebody had grand plans for this grand old century home.

When people use the term “good bones,” it’s like saying that there’s absolutely no upside to this house other than the four walls and a roof.

This house on WestBrick had all the makings of “good bones,” but even the bones were a little frail.

Everything in this house needed to be replaced, even the stuff outside the house!  The shingles, flashing, eaves, windows and sills, porch, steps, front yard – everything needed to go.

Take a look at the original picture:

Okay, so maybe everything didn’t need to be replaced, as you can clearly see that the second-floor window sill remains in tact except with a new coat of black paint.  But the windows themselves were replaced, and that awful overhang was removed to give the house a lot more curb appeal, and to let more natural light through the main-floor window.

Unfortunately, I can’t post any interior pictures of the renovation (unauthorized advertising…), but use your imagination to picture a house that is completely “done,” and this is it.

They didn’t blow their brains out on top-of-the-line finishes.  After all, this is Little Italy, not Forest Hill.

But what they did do was open the house up and give it a more functional and modern layout.

The house was originally sold as a 5-bedroom, but it’s back on the market as a 3-bedroom.

Why?  Because they removed a wall on the second-floor to combine the master and the second bedroom and make one very large, and very true “master” with an ensuite bathroom – something that you MUST have in a $900,000 house!

They also turned the two bedrooms on the 3rd floor into one actual bedroom and one “loft” which is really a den that leads out to the large 3rd floor deck.

What good is space if it’s not functional?

A five-bedroom house is nice in theory, but not if each room is cramped and doesn’t cater to your needs.  I wouldn’t even think about buying a house over $700,000 unless it had an ensuite bathroom to the master!

On the main floor, they took out just about every wall they could remove without caving in the house.  Show me a “modern” house that still has a dividing wall between the kitchen and dining room, and I’ll say it isn’t modern enough.

The property is only 19 x 127 feet, so you’re only looking at about 800 square feet on the main floor.  May as well make the most of it, and open is the best way to go.

The only thing that I find strange about this renovation is that they left the basement unfinished.  Maybe they just didn’t have the money to finish the whole house?  Or perhaps they didn’t see a return on their investment for doing so.

The house is listed for sale at $829,000.  How much more would a finished basement have brought in?  And how much would it have cost them to finish it?

The owners paid $592,000 for the house in August and the transaction closed on September 8th, 2009.

The property was listed for $829,000 on December 1st, 2009 – only 74 days later.  Offers were reviewed on Monday, December 7th, so there was a chance for multiple offers, right?

How much money did the owners stand to make on this reno-and-flip?

Well they’re in for $15,000 in Land Transfer Tax, and around $35,000 in transaction fees.  And a friend of mine came through the house with me and estimated that the renovation cost about $200,000.

So by my accounts, the owners are breaking even if the house sells for the asking price of $829,000.

Talk about risk!

The owners are counting on multiple offers and if they don’t get them, they break even.

It begs the question, why didn’t they list at $899,000 and ensure they could lock in some profit at the asking price?  I suppose they figured if you’re going to be risky, be really risky!

So what happened?

Offers were reviewed on Monday night and the $829,000 asking price turned into a $930,000 sale.

I’d say the owners did pretty well for themselves.

By my accounts, they made at least $100,000, perhaps more if my assumptions on their renovation costs weren’t correct.

Not bad for two months’ work!

This is one of the fastest flips I have seen in a long time, and it was a successful one.

When the new City of Toronto Land Transfer Tax came into effect, renovators and speculators realized it would be that much tougher to flip properties.  And with the market as hot as it is, it’s hard to get your hands on raw product that needs to be renovated.

But the owners at WestBrick pocketed a six-figure profit inside of a couple months, and I for one applaud their efforts.

I have a client who is an interior-designer looking to do the exact same thing, and as luck would have it, there is a new listing for an unrenovated house on the other side of the park.

Can lightning strike twice in the same place?