I forgot to mention that out of my 4 regular manly construction guys, none of them wanted to kill the lobster:) finally the youngest guy came into the kitchen and pulled up a Youtube video on how to kill and halve the lobsters.
^^ My grandmother in Maine used to just toss them into a pot of boiling water.
I’m hoping the potential buyers were not put off by the fishy smell, but I’m thinking that you are in the driver’s seat and are not concerned about the impression the smell may have made upon them. I think this bodes well for a great surprise tomorrow!
CB- congrats on passing final inspection. Lunch sounds wonderful.
I’m hoping the good news tomorrow is that CB won the lottery and is keeping the house herself. 
CB, you put so much love and effort into these houses. I imagine it might be hard for you to part with them when you sell them!
Yes, when we are finally staged and beautiful I spend weeks piddling around getting melancholy about losing my baby. I usually stop myself from going over to the project a couple of weeks before closing escrow.
I loaded some photos of our celebration yesterday and the signed permit. I loaded one of the crew being allowed to sit at the fancy dining table… hope that is OK. I don’t think they care
I wish I could “Like Like Like” that picture of your crew enjoying a rest and nice meal. I know you are full of appreciation and it shows! Thank you for these celebration pictures.
coralbrook - when you have time i’d like to hear how you got started in this all. You sound like a general contractor & designer all rolled together. What’s your background that brought you here? What’s your favorite part? How did you get started sharing on CC? and I’m also curious what your own house is like. This is your 3rd Flip ive followed; i was hooked when you were so kind to the hoarder house people.
We have another showing at 11am this morning. This is an agent that has been calling all week but finally got her buyers scheduled to view the house.
Hoping they have cash!
I started posting to College Confidential in 2013. At that time there was a thread where everyone was discussing some of the HGTV flipping shows. I piped up “Do you guys have any interest in what it is really like? I do this for a living”. Lots of interest so I started my first thread. You can read the history of how I got in the business and why (I saw my corporate layoff coming and decided I would try to do something creative because I loved to remodel) on the first page of the thread. The key thing that I did right back in 2008 was see my layoff looming and I rushed into the bank and pulled a HELOC on my home to have capital… while still employed! I actually bought my first property while fully employed but sitting daily at the foreclosure auctions.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1539104-flip-this-house-the-reality-p1.html
I have no previous experience with construction. I just really enjoy remodeling and design. The real money in flipping is buying something that only needs cosmetic improvements such as new kitchen/bath, flooring and some paint. But, there is way too much competition for those types of houses. I have evolved into specializing in extremely distressed properties with serious issues - total gut jobs. I have just learned how to inspect and estimate costs through the school of hard knocks, making mistakes. And I will add, my estimates are never right!!! Just like Flip or Flop… I come in way over budget.
In the flipping business it is a law of averages. There are home runs, average returns and losses. Everyone you see on TV goes for quantity to even out their returns. I don’t have a company with any help and I don’t have deep pockets so I can only work on one project at a time. So, I try to go for quality over quantity. I do not have a contractor’s license so I can only work on homes that I own, as a homeowner.
Has anyone noticed that I haven’t even posted my budget for this flip because I am just so embarrassed about the numbers right now?? 
I noticed, but assumed you didn’t want to post final numbers until after the sale just in case an interested buyer finds their way here somehow.
@coralbrook - I am a long time lurker that loves your threads. Everything looks beautiful in this house and I’m sure you are going got a great offer. Good luck!!!
Add me to the long time lurker admiration society I love the care and creativity you put into the houses that are made into homes.
cb, I assume you’re going to be forthcoming with the budget once you’ve got a deal signed, sealed and delivered. At that point you’ll know your profit so you won’t need to be embarrassed!
ETA: Love the photo of your crew sitting at the table with the lobsters! They look quite happy and content.
Yummy – those lobsters cooked the way the cook them in Mexico; split in half and broiled (or thrown on the grill). Makes me hungry to look at them!
The 11 am showing is happening now… Fingers crossed!
I’m being VERY patient waiting for the “news” about today. Ok…maybe I’m not being so patient!