A pocket listing on Lookout Mountain, a seller who needed time, and a 5,700-square-foot question: can we really pull this off? We brought back Diana to unpack the full journey—how she and her husband stitched together hard money, private loans, and family funds to acquire, renovate, and sell a luxury flip that demanded both creativity and resilience.

We start with the terms that opened the door: longer closings that honored the seller’s needs and gave them space to finish two ongoing projects. From there, the capital stack grew: a hard money loan for speed, private lenders for flexibility, and family support with clear boundaries and written agreements. Diana shares how raising capital snowballs when you communicate publicly, educate lenders about self-directed IRAs, and treat relationships like professional partnerships.

Inside the renovation, the plan shifted from a tidy budget to a full-scale transformation. They removed a failing addition, finished a massive attic for functional living space, respected the home’s formal layout, and invested in an outdoor experience—fencing, native landscaping, and a tasteful privacy wall—that matched family buyers’ needs. Along the way, a designer relationship went sideways with inflated bids and thin deliverables. The fix: reclaim scope, put it in writing, and use an hourly stager for sharp, budget-aligned finish decisions.

Selling brought its own lessons. An early $1.85M offer was declined in favor of a higher list, but time and carrying costs pressed hard. After addressing inspection hits—crawlspace humidity, cupped hardwoods—and swatting down a last-minute insurance objection with a fast quote, they closed at $1.75M cash and walked with roughly $200K. The honest reflection: they might have netted more by accepting that first offer, but the profit funded new ventures and sharpened their playbook.

If you care about real numbers, real negotiation, and the unglamorous decisions that make or break a luxury flip, this conversation will meet you where you are. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s eyeing a big project, and leave a review with the one lesson you’ll use on your next deal.

GOODIES

1. THE book on women flipping houses is here! Click here to grab the digital download of my new book for just $4.99! Just as everything else we do is different, so is FLIPPED: Lessons and Stories of Women Flipping Houses and Facing Their Fears.

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The Flipsisters
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