Customer Highlight: Emilie + Brian

December 17, 2020 | amandasearlerealtor

This month, I wanted to highlight some long time investors whose experience highlights a very specific type of investing. There are many ways to invest and they have perfected the art of investing in a home that needs a lot of work but is in a good location, acquiring it at a great price, renovating it, and then renting for a long term hold. Again, this is one strategy and it works quite well for them…

You had lived in your home in JAX for many years, what made you decide to move out to the beach? We LOVE Springfield and all of our neighbors, but we were craving something closer to the beach. We have a few properties in Springfield that we rent. These are houses that were in bad shape when we bought them. We spent nearly a year working on each of them before we were able to rent them. We wanted to do something similar at the beach, but for this, we were thinking more of short-term rentals. We fell in love with our house before we had learned that Atlantic Beach doesn’t allow short-term rentals. We decided we would try to eventually rent our house in Springfield and move to the beach when the time was right.
Instead of selling your home in Jacksonville, you chose to rent it out and manage it instead – is being a landlord difficult? We have been SO fortunate to have wonderful tenants. We are very selective with our renters – the Springfield properties are duplexes. We are very conscientious of the shared roof and want to ensure that everyone is respectful of their immediate neighbors. For our personal home, we were even more selective. Word of mouth is the best way for us to find good renters – we love referrals from friends. We rented our house to a lovely young couple who had lived in Springfield, but they were looking for a house vs a duplex to have more space for their growing family.
Why did you choose the house you picked in Atlantic Beach? We love older homes. Brian and I had been perusing the available real estate in the beaches area and we both saved the same house without the other’s knowledge. I was actually not totally in favor of making a big investment, but once we saw the house and the potential, we fell in love. The house is one of few in Atlantic Beach that were built in the 1920s. It has great curb appeal, original features, and it has a pool.
What were you most nervous about with the purchase? We were worried we may lose the house. There was a lot of interest, but many people were turned off by the amount of work the house needed. Once they had it inspected and got a quote for the renovation…they were overwhelmed. That worked in our favor.
What do you love the most about being at the beach? We are so close to everything! There is a laid back vibe here, too. Also, it just feels easier to do more things outdoors.
How has your lifestyle changed? Our lifestyle hasn’t changed much. We do miss our friends in Springfield, but since we have moved here…we are still doing the same things. We would love to say we go to the beach more, but somehow we seem to get tied up in projects.
What does Stella (their dog) like most about the beach house? She loves running around the backyard and chasing lizards. However, she would be happy if we lived in a paper sack, as long as we were holding her 😉
How did you choose the house you did for a renovation project? Was there something about it that made it a good candidate for you? It checked all of the boxes: location, historic features, curb appeal, and huge potential. It did need a ton of work, but nothing compared to our projects in Springfield. Plus, the house is a good size – not too big, and not too small.
You’ve done many renovations – what do you look for in a property that you feel is a good contender? If it’s a property that we would rent after renovating it, we want to be sure it’s in a desirable location. Also, we would need to consider future upkeep. When looking for properties, we have to envision what it could look like once it’s renovated. If it’s too hard to see the potential, it’s not likely that we will invest our time or resources in renovating it.

How large of a renovation project was this for you? We did a lot to this house. It took several months. We had a contractor, but did many things ourselves. Everything in the house was touched, from floor to ceiling and all around the exterior. Brian and a friend gutted the house the day after we closed. They ripped out the kitchen, a couple walls, and both bathrooms. They also had to remove the vines that were covering the entire house. In addition to many things he did on his own, Brian removed the popcorn from the ceilings and restored the floors (they are beautiful).
What are some of the hurdles that you had to overcome? There are always hurdles with renovating older homes. One of the bigger frustrations is when something is delayed and it throws off the entire timeline.
What are some things that you had to change as you went along that were different from your original vision? I can’t think of anything….we did what we wanted at that time. Now, that we have been living here, we’ve realized there are minor things we would’ve done differently.
You chose to live in this home after you renovated it – what is your favorite feature of the renovation? We adore this house! I think one of the more rewarding projects has been outside of the house. We have worked very hard to make the backyard inviting and beautiful. It was a complete eyesore when we bought the house. We did a lot of landscaping, replaced the fence, and put in a huge outdoor shower. Our yard is so tranquil – it’s one of my favorite places to spend time.

Emilie and Brian have so many great BEFORE and AFTER photos of the beach house, I decide to showcase them all below…

I mean, who wouldn’t want to live here????