|
Name |
Flo Jacques |
|---|---|
| Location | North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham area) |
| Occupation | Full-time real estate broker and investor (former college admissions counselor) |
| Assets | Four properties, including a primary residence, a single-family rental, a duplex, and a flip in progress |
| Investment strategy | BRRRR, midterm/Airbnb rentals, flipping, off-market and MLS package deals |
| Financing | 100% hard money financing (purchase + rehab, up to 70%–75% ARV) |
Flo Jacques bought her first home at 22 on a $35,000 salary as a college admissions counselor, simply because she’d saved $15,000 and wondered if buying made more sense than renting. It took her three more years of getting licensed, networking, and learning before she felt ready to buy an investment property.
When she finally moved, she moved fast: a roach-infested single-family flood-zone rehab, followed a month later by a six-figure duplex renovation, followed by an off-market flip with a ceiling that didn’t meet code. Two years in, she’s built a four-property portfolio using 100% financing and has her sights set on real estate development.
Here’s how she built it.
You went three years between buying your primary home and your first investment property. What finally pushed you to act?
I got my real estate license first to learn the business while I built up funds, since college admissions doesn’t pay much. I joined professional organizations and started attending investor-focused sessions, and by 2024, I knew I wanted to build a portfolio instead of working until I died.
I found my first deal almost by accident: I was helping an investor client evaluate a 19-property portfolio a retiring investor was selling near Rocky Mount, North Carolina. While sending her the list, I decided to make offers on one or two properties myself.
I went under contract for $90,000 but closed at $70,000 after discovering the property was in an undisclosed flood zone. I moved forward anyway, since the price was still right.
That first deal turned into a full gut renovation. How did the financing and the actual rehab go?
I found a hard money lender with no experience requirement, which is rare. They financed 100% of both the purchase and the rehab, as long as the total stayed under 70% to 75% of the after-repair value. All I had to cover were origination fees and closing costs.
The renovation itself was brutal: We had to rebuild the entire foundation, and I went through three different contractors. The first didn’t have the crew for the scope, the second got greedy with pricing, and the third finished the job.
The rehab budget started at $75,000 and ran over. When I went to refinance, the appraisal actually came in $26,000 lower than expected because the underwriter questioned my comps in a market with limited recent sales. That property is currently rented to a group home tenant for $1,595 a month.
A month after that first deal, you bought a $287,000 duplex in downtown Durham. How did that one perform?
Same hard money lender, same 100% financing structure. That renovation was supposed to be $65,000 but came in closer to $130,000, since I also furnished it to run as a midterm and short-term rental. I wasn’t checking in on the property regularly during construction, which I now consider a mistake; I was mostly just wiring money based on photos contractors sent me.
Once finished, it appraised at $462,500, and I pulled cash out of the refinance to help recover from going over budget on both projects. It now cash flows between $800 and $1,000 a month on Airbnb and VRBO.
Your most recent deal was your first off-market find, and it had a defect most investors were avoiding. Walk us through it.
I found it on an off-market wholesaler platform after attending a private money lending conference that got me back in the game. The property had ceilings under seven feet, which doesn’t meet Raleigh’s code minimum, so a lot of investors were passing on it.
I saw that as an opportunity to negotiate. I bought it for $120,000, and the ARV is a conservative $337,000. This time, since I’m now a full-time investor with more time for due diligence, I structured it more conservatively at 65% of ARV, built in a real contingency budget, and even started paying myself for my own time managing the project. We’re currently raising the roofline to get the ceilings to code.
What’s the biggest lesson you’d pass on to someone considering this same sub-$100K, heavy-rehab strategy?
Structure your deals more conservatively than you think you need to, especially in cheaper, high-renter markets where there aren’t many comparable sales to support a high post-renovation appraisal.
On my first deal, I underwrote at 75% ARV and got burned when the underwriter pushed back on my comps. I also learned to budget in contingencies and to pay myself for the time I put into managing a renovation, not just materials and labor.
Beyond that, don’t be afraid to move on properties other people are passing on, whether that’s a flood zone or a code issue, as long as you can put a real dollar amount on what it costs to fix.
