This $1,000,000 House Flip Nearly Failed and Took Forever

Almost lost so much time and money!

This $1,000,000 flip nearly failed but we pulled off a full transformation just in time. In this video, I’m sharing the complete before and after walkthrough of a high-stakes house flip that almost went off the rails because of how long it took to complete. If you’re learning how to flip houses, already flipping, or exploring real estate investing as a way to break free from the 9-to-5, this video is packed with lessons you can’t afford to miss.

From budget overruns to unexpected renovation setbacks, this million dollar project tested every part of the house flipping process. I’ll walk you through the original condition of the home, the design decisions we made, and the strategic upgrades that helped us recover and still make a profit. You’ll see what went wrong, what we learned, and how we turned things around.

Whether you’re interested in fix and flip tips, renovation design, or before and after home transformations, this video is for you. Real estate investing isn’t always smooth but when it works, it’s worth it.

Would you have taken this flip on? Let me know in the comments. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more house flipping tips, stories, and real estate investing insights.

00:00 Intro
00:27 Front Yard
01:22 Entrance
01:45 Living Room
02:17 Dining Room and Kitchen
02:51 Bathroom
03:22 Bedrooms
03:55 Primary Bedroom
04:10 Primary Bathroom
04:41 Garage Transformation
05:38 Downstairs Addition
06:32 Backyard
06:40 Walkthrough
07:54 Numbers and Outro

#HouseFlipping #RealEstateInvesting #FixAndFlip #transformrealestate #FlippingHouses #HouseFlippingTips #RenovationDesign #houseflip #RealEstateTips

[thekirksiffs]

I love the changes you made. A five-bedroom house is rare! Someone got a beautiful home.

[bymilliebphotography]

You are very funny! You should joke around more often. Another beautifully renovated flip. Congrats!

[AuntieBrendaWashington-tpmq]

Thank you for the joke, Elisa! We don’t have a chance to see you so light hearted often enough. The house looks fantastic.

[AgentAO]

I like the layout of this home. I love the fact that it’s not fully open concept. It has visual sightlines but still has separation of rooms.
The color palette is also very modern & bright. The facade looks very contemporary.
Keep it up! 👍

[karenmbbaxter]

I love your honesty coz like you said $70, 000 in the scheme of things ain't much.

[imonearthnow]

🙏 The baskets joke cracked me up. 😅
Beautiful work, whoever bought it got not only a first class flip but at a good price.The
I love how transparent you are. It shows your genuine nature. Hope your next flip makes you bundles. 3x

[helengeorgievski]

I really appreciate your honesty in sharing flips that you didn't consider as successful as the others. Its so important to keep it real in this business because the lessons we can learn from the mishaps are so invaluable to help us newbies be more aware of the risks involved & what we can take away from your experience so we proactively put protections or measures in place during our planning & underwriting phase so hopefully we don't repeat the same mistakes. Amazing & beautiful work that you do though!!❤😆🤗

[ColeDunstan]

Awesome flip Elisa! Turned out amazing! I just toured your latest listing (you bought it for $2.7M, you know where it is). I also just emailed you about how much I enjoyed the home and your design. Would love it if you could respond when you have a chance! 🏠

[cindy_lou_loves_to_stitch]

Oh those baskets sold the house!! ☺️☺️ I was like Very cute dress n boots! 🤍 Sorry it wasn't what you hoped for, but a lesson learned is good!! 🌞

[susananders]

The updated home is beautiful. Amazing to have that many bedrooms and bathrooms. Thank you for sharing your miss-guess on this. Generally, you cannot get the $$$ you hoped for if you over remodel a home for the neighborhood. I am glad that you were able to sell it for a small profit, though.

[StacyATX]

Yes! I am finding my own time is the biggest expense for a house flip. My last one took 9 months from start to end and even though my time was free after the first few months, it tied my cash up, so I just sat throughout it. It ended up being profitable, $23k, but divided by 9 (months), for my time and energy it didn’t add up in as big of a way I would’ve liked.

Also my home was nicer and larger than the surrounding comps, but they also didn’t support its price.

So I agree with Elisa that,

A) neighborhood average resale value is the #1 guiding factor to look at when pricing your home, and

B) When it takes too long to do a flip, you’re wasting your own most valuable asset, time, and wasting time can cut into a smaller profit to make it less worth it, if worth it at all.

[denisemcmahon]

I would think the downstairs living space/ADU would have been a draw for better offers.

[timkirk]

Beautiful designs and job, as always. I loved the floating vanity in the primary bathroom, tile colors, and flooring colors. I have a question, I noticed that you chose to install the 6 inch backsplash in the kitchen instead of what you generally do, was that strategic for budget purposes?

[chriso]

I love it! I will say however though that dark grey definitely feels outdated to most people nowadays

[rm]

Yeah, the daily city and West SF area aren’t exactly appreciating these days. But you and your team has done a fantastic jobs and I’m glad you at least made money on this.

[willingexile]

Great transformation. Sort of liked the parquet, but of course updating a home needs to meet contemporary trends. It's great you still ended up ahead, but yes, that much amount for the level of stress and time you put in is probably not worth it.

[SerendipityNJ]

Problems: I think part of the problem to begin with, is that the house is one of many in a very 'cookie cutter' home neighborhood - the architectural design was poor to begin with. Having said that, I think you did a fantastic job in the overall renovation of this project. Two things to consider (in my opinion) - the 'battleship gray' color is overused - it looks stark and dreary, especially paired with the white. With all the different shades of paint in the greige range - interesting and more sophisticated colors within the green/tan/low tones of gray would have been better. Second: The fireplace should have been updated to a more modern look - it is a focal point of the home, and it would have been worth spending more money on it.

[marypac]

So, would you say the biggest problem was the permits or the time is actually took to do the construction at the ground floor?

[Eric_In_SF]

This one looks like it’s in Daly City or San Bruno. Really really far from her normal territory. I think it’s just a matter of not really understanding your market. Just like that new place in Redwood Shores. A house down the street just sold for 3 million in pretty bad shape but that’s a really hit or miss area so I think that one’s gonna be a little scary. Plus the further you push up into the peninsula the investors up there pretty protectiveand it can get a little over competitive. Sometimes it’s just best to stay in the comfort zone :-)😂

[susanlovesjava]

You should stop painting the brick in the yards and not use grey anywhere, it's very drab