Photography by Reed Radcliffe
Dave Nations works full-time as a realtor for Keller Williams Realty, but on the side, he and his brother, Jeff, flip houses under the auspices of Nations Brothers Renovations. Usually, they tackle a couple of houses a year. In 2013, they did six. All of the houses except one sold before they were even finished.
One house on East Adams Avenue in Kirkwood presented unexpected challenges. Due to termites, everything from the roof to the floor joists had to be replaced. In fact, the floor, bathrooms, windows, plumbing, and electric are all brand-new, with an added bedroom. “We bought it in July, we started [the rehab] in August, we put it on the market October 11, and we got a contract at the beginning of November,” Nations says. “It was on the market for two weeks.”
When it comes to the business of flipping houses, however, Nations warns other investors to be cautious. “It is about being smart where you are buying and buying in an area where you are comfortable,” he says. “People are so eager to get into it that they jump in and get in over their heads very quickly. With that one on Adams, a lot of things came up after the fact that cost us more time and more money.”
Michael Malashock thought he would grow up and run his father’s company, Software Plus—until his dad sold it. So instead, he founded MJM Renovations and began flipping houses. His first house was one in the city’s Shaw neighborhood. It was built in 1892 and had fallen into foreclosure. “It was very bad,” Malashock says. “The roof was leaking into the third story. The entire stairwell was basically falling down.”
So he had a new stairwell built from the basement to the third floor. All of the plaster was removed, and drywall installed. The list goes on: updated plumbing, electrical, and flooring; a new half bathroom; and a brand-new kitchen.
Malashock has gained expertise with each house that he has redone. At press time, he had completed five houses and had several more in process.
“You have to take every mistake you make and learn from it,” he says. “Sometimes they can be expensive mistakes.”
His learning curve has included mold, miscreants, and more. “I had two houses broken into and copper stolen,” Malashock says. “In one other house that was broken into, people moved in and were cooking meth in it. Now we have alarms on our houses. Those have prevented a lot of bad stuff from happening.”
Malashock recently bought another property in the Shaw neighborhood, also in foreclosure, with the intent of flipping it. He put the first one on the market for $249,000. “We are hoping to get it sold and off my case,” he says. “I need the money to go to buy more houses.”
