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This 30-Year-Old Teacher Flips Houses in Her Spare Time

By day, Kristina Eustace is a 30-year-old teacher living in Edmonton. By night she flips houses with her husband Ryan and blogs about home design.

They’ve flipped four houses in the Edmonton area, with the most recent one being completed and sold earlier this year.

The couple also decided to upgrade to a bigger home home after getting married in 2015. Before they were married, they purchased their first home four years ago because they thought it was a good time to invest in a property.

Kristina and Ryan knew they were in a good place with their savings when they decided to take the leap into homeownership. They were able to drastically lower their living costs when they moved in together, which was also good for the budget. Age also played a factor. They started dating in their mid-20s and as they moved into their late 20s, it helped them feel ready for homeownership together.

As this is the second property they’ve owned and lived in, they were able to put down 10%. The proceeds and equity built up from the sale from their first home really helped with this. Since they’re also in the business of flipping houses in the Edmonton area, they found that while the 10% down helped them, the fact they have a large line of credit for their business was a bit of a hindrance.

Kristina and Ryan purchased a 1,600-square-foot house for $580,000 and they were able to get a variable-rate mortgage with a 2.74% interest rate.

Homeownership can be emotional for many and comparing Kristina’s business and personal property purchases really does show how quickly our emotions can get involved. “I get attached to properties quickly. As a designer, I get excited and start to picture things,” she says. “If a deal falls through it’s disappointing.”

Kristina feels that Edmonton is definitely a buyer’s market right now. The home they bought was originally listed for $800,000 and sat on the market for quite a long time until the price dropped 25%.

In all of their home purchasing experiences they’ve used a mortgage broker to find them the best rate. However, Kristina mentioned says it’s been an incredibly exhausting process and the amount of documentation required is incredible. Kristina also realizes that this could be because they are a special case since they’re flipping homes. At the end of the day, they leave the rate negotiating to the broker and they take care of scouring real estate websites for bargains.

Their new home needs a lot of work but that’s alright with the two. With her design skills and his knack for renos, the home is in good hands. It was a whirlwind of emotions for Kristina and Ryan, but they sold their home and purchased a brand one and they were happy to take possession this month.

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Picture credit: Revive Developments