A True Story Of A Stay At Home Mom
When Beth Rosander attended my Fixer Camp in the early ’90’s, her situation was a bit more urgent than my typical students. Recently divorced with two small children to raise and very limited support payments, Beth needed to earn additional income fast. Further complicating her life, she lived near the San Francisco Bay Area amongst the highest priced houses in California.
On a positive note, Beth understood how fixing up houses could rapidly increase the value! She and her ex-husband had completely remodeled her 92-year-old house and nearly tripled its value. That experience gave her the courage to continue without him. She even learned how to tile a bathroom floor, she said –Well, maybe not perfect, but certainly acceptable! Her main problem, she explained to me, was writing up the offers – plus finding additional money for down payments and fix-up. That’s the reason she came to my Fixer Camp!
During her three days of training, Beth explained how she first had tried working at a local grocery store. Her net income left over for living expenses after paying childcare, was $42 a week. In San Francisco, that just about covers your parking bill. Obviously, Beth decided rather quickly – she needed another way to earn a living where she could keep the children with her. Her house remodeling experience seemed to be her only logical salvation!
At Fixer Camp, Beth learned everything she needed! She learned how to write up offers, how to estimate her fix-up costs and how to get financing to acquire more properties.
In May of 1993, Beth’s house fixing success came to the attention of San Francisco Examiner real estate columnist, Corrie M. Anders. Corrie’s half-page spread in the Sunday Examiner profiled several of her recent projects, including pictures. During an on-site interview, Beth explained how she fixed the roof and remodeled a bathroom that had a garden hose running from the into to fill the tub. She spent roughly $21,000 on materials and her helper, worked long days and nights herself for over month – then sold the place for a $40,000 profit – just ninety days after she started.
According to Corrie’s article, Beth’s average profits were about $30,000 per house, and that included a period of sluggish sales for several years after the Desert Storm invasion. Obviously, Beth’s fix-up ventures received more notoriety than most Fixer Camp students get – Still, it was her personal efforts that made things happen. Beth took what she learned at Fixer Camp, added the elbow grease and presto – along came her well-deserved profits!
If you were to interview Beth today (she married her house fixing helper), I’m almost certain she would tell you something like this – Learning the information you need from a teacher who does it himself will prove invaluable for you success. Naturally, it’s up to the students to make things happen – but leaving Fixer Camp with the knowledge about what to do back home can quickly put you ahead of the competition.
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