AKL Flips Out (In a Good way)
Ashley Kiely’s first flip project is in the books! Five months from start to finish. It was a wild ride with lots of learnings along the way. If you love the way it all turned out (see it on Instagram), you can order the official AKL plans and materials list, including paint colors, fixtures, finishes, and more. We’ve put them all together in a design bundle that you can purchase online.
What was the inspiration for taking on an investment property?
The whole reason I wanted to explore this side of the business was to do investment properties differently. Typically, a "flip" is given a negative connotation because the assumption is that it’s poorly designed, like white subway tile, white cabinets, and laminate countertops. We knew we could elevate a home on a budget and still provide an end result that was AKL design build standard – tasteful, intentional, functional, and beautiful. And, that's exactly what we did!
Why did you choose This house as your first property?
Going into our first investment property, we knew we wanted something as safe and straightforward as possible. It was important to avoid a home that had BIG problems that were going to cost a lot to fix, so that we could conserve the budget for interior design elements.
On the outside, this house was in great condition. All the important things needed no attention at all, such as the roof, siding, water heater, and AC unit. But, the inside was in horrible condition. Two major problems: Mold and out-of-date electrical — both of which are intimidating to a “normal” buyer. We were able to see past all of that and look at the true potential of the home.
The only thing I KNEW I wanted to change was to take down the wall separating the kitchen and dining room so that we could create an open concept floor plan. Everything else in the home was able to stay in relatively the same place, which saved us a ton in the plumbing department.
What was the design vision?
Shannon, AKL lead designer, created an incredible mood board that was our guiding light from the very beginning. The vibe was English cottage – cozy, warm, inviting, with a modern and transitional twist. The house was originally SO DARK. There was minimal light, dark wood trim, hollow core wood doors, and carpet. We wanted to brighten it up but not go with a color scheme that was overly bright and modern. We chose a palette that’s warm, creamy, and cozy. We also added small custom carpentry touches and details to provide an elegant twist on the original materials from the 80s. It should be no surprise that adding custom storage solutions was also high on my priority list.
Anything that you wanted to do but couldn’t because of the budget?
When you are doing a remodel on a budget you have to pick and choose where to spend your money. What areas are most important versus the areas that may need to be forgotten. For me, the biggest constraint was the windows. This house had vinyl windows except for one in the kitchen which was old aluminum. They worked and were in good condition, but were an awful almond color and absolutely filthy. I knew with all the design elements and custom work we wanted to do to elevate this house that there wasn’t room in the budget to replace all of the windows or doors. It was something I had to accept and hope that in the end what we DID decide to spend our money on would be worth it to the new buyer.
Any unexpected things pop up?
Oh, yes. Unexpected bad: When we removed the carpet we were faced with rotting floorboards from bad plumbing and zero ventilation. But there was an unexpected good, too! The wall I wanted to take down separating the dining room from the kitchen was non-load bearing so we could remove it without any structural work.
What’s your favorite part or detail of the finished product?
I have a few. The laundry room marble checkerboard tile is a showstopper and I just love how all the colors came together in that room of the house. We added picture moulding to all the interior doors and then painted them the same color as the trim. It gives the most elegant facelift to old and gross hollow core doors. For the rolling closet doors, we added shiplap paneling to give it another high end and luxury feel. Another fan favorite was the Venetian plaster fireplace.
What was the biggest thing you learned on this project?
This is going to be a long answer. Since this was our first one, we didn’t really know what to expect from a cost perspective. We did everything in our power to estimate what it would cost, but things just come up. We opted to keep a lot of the labor in-house with the AKL team. Shannon for design, my dad for all the custom work, and some of our organizing team for miscellaneous jobs along the way. Initially, I expected this to be the affordable route. What I learned was that it actually wasn’t at all! Our labor cost was significantly higher than what we had budgeted for, but by that time we were already down that path and had to stick it out to get the job done right.
Next time, we’ll invest in full design plans up front. Just like we do with our design-build remodels. But, the labor portion will be subbed out to all of our incredible and amazing trade partners. That will allow me to control the budget more closely and try to avoid unexpected costs along the way.
Another big learning for us was materials sourcing. We wanted quality and high-end design tile, hardware, lighting, etc., but had to find it all within our budget! The majority of what we sourced was from retailers like Amazon and Floor & Decor. We took a risk and were unsure if we were going to like the quality and look of some of these budget-friendly fixtures and finishes. The good news: We were pleasantly surprised and excited to know that the majority of what we sourced fell within our budget and still looks HIGH END.
Oh! One more thing. I had to learn to let go and accept that we wouldn’t be able to do EVERYTHING on our list. There were smaller things that I would have loved to do, but that weren’t totally necessary. So the new homeowner gets to decide now if those things are important to them. Ultimately, our goal was to deliver a turnkey home and we definitely accomplished that.
Any advice for aspiring house flippers?
I've only done it once, so take this with a grain of salt:
Do your research about investment remodeling. Treat the setup and preparation just like a business start-up. Get your ducks in a row and make a business model.
Figure out your investors or investment strategy. How will you pay for the purchase of the home? The remodel? Your realtor and all the closing costs? You will need a large amount of cash and determining the best route for your business model is a crucial piece of the puzzle.
Surround yourself with experts. You will need to find a REALLY good general contractor or trade partners to do the remodel work for you. Having bad trades or contractors that are too expensive can send you way over budget in a hurry. Your goal is to find a partner that you not only trust, but does good quality work for a good price.
You'll need a realtor or real estate team you can lean on during the purchase and sale of your property. Find someone you feel comfortable with and be sure to ask if staging is part of their package. If not, that’s an extra budget item in your remodel cost that you’ll want to account for.
Are there more investment properties in the works?
I’ve been asked this a lot. Let's just say...we all need a little break...haha. Jokes aside, yes. We have a few large remodels (on the client side) coming up for the AKL team before the end of year. But we are going to give ourselves a break before jumping into the next flip property. The inventory on the market for these types of homes isn't great at the moment, which tells me that we need to wait it out for a bit. So, yes and…not yet.