Flipping Belfast: Carly Anderson on turning unloved houses into hot property

Carly is firmly on the path to building her forever home (a stunning five-bedroom house with a swimming pool), by ‘flipping’ properties, that is, buying houses in need of some love, giving them a stylish refurb and selling them on for a healthy profit, which she then uses for her newbuild.

To date she has flipped 13 properties in south east Belfast (three-bed semis and two-bed apartments), with each breaking the ceiling price in their areas. The least profit she has made on a house is £41k (her first flip), the most so far is £75k, and she’s confident her latest project will achieve a profit of some £100k.

And the 43-year-old, who has become a social media sensation, with the handle, @flippingbelfast, is not keeping the secret of her success to herself, instead she gives talks and workshops to others interested in following her up the rungs of the property ladder.

Indeed, she says sharing her experience is what ‘lights her up’.

“It's important to show people that you can change what you're doing. I don't think we should choose a job at 18 and be stuck to that, because we change as people, don't we? We evolve and our interests change," she says.

Carly, who worked in the civil service, described how a set of unfortunate circumstances led to her fortuitous pivot into property.

“I had two ectopic pregnancies and then my husband and I split up. We had put our whole savings into a house, but he wanted his half of the deposit and said we had to sell it. However, I didn’t want to let go of that house, because I loved the street and the area.

"Everybody thought I'd lost my mind, but I went to a mortgage advisor and said, ‘how do I keep this house on my own?’ At that point I thought what have I got to lose?

“He said, first, before anything, you need to find £25,000 very quickly because you're going to have to pay your husband back. So I thought I’m going to flip a house.

"I watch all these programmes like Homes Under the Hammer, where they’re flipping houses and making £25k and I thought I could do that. And also the house that I had lived in, I had done it up a little bit and made it look lovely, so I thought, I'm going to try this.”

Carly put her house on the market, got a good price for it, viewed lots of properties, and eventually bought a two-bedroom apartment.

“The day I got the keys for that apartment, the estate agent called and said another one that I had been bidding on had fallen through and I could have it for the price that I offered.

“I said ‘it’s ok because I’ve bought one’ and he said, ‘well, buy two, just get a buy-to-let mortgage’. So I bought that one as well.”

Carly then got to work sprucing up both apartments, whilst still working full-time.

"I had no refurb experience. I didn't know anybody. I had no contacts. My dad had painted planes in Bombardier, he’s a trained painter and decorator, but that was it.

"I worked evenings and weekends and six months later I sold the two of them. I was really proud of them and what they looked like. In those six months, the net profit was £102,000. That was more than double what I made in a year. I couldn't believe it.”

On a “bit of a roll”, Carly decided to buy more properties.

“I bought two semis and set about doing them up. I made £69k profit on one and £75k profit on the other. I started posting before and after pictures on Instagram and it just gathered momentum. I had a lot of people asking me to show them how to do it."

It was then she decided to offer ‘flipping’ courses.

“I've taught a lot of people to flip houses. I get a buzz from seeing how well they do. My goal is that they make more than me with a house!”

And she’s not worried she’s creating competition for herself.

“That's not my mindset. We literally have hundreds of thousands of houses here in Northern Ireland and everybody should have a share of it if that's what they want to do.”

Carly said 75 per cent of the people who attend her courses are women.

“I really think it’s important to let women know that they can do it themselves as a career or as a side hustle. You don’t have to give up your career to do this, but I’m sure we’d all love an extra £40k a year, even if it is a bit of work.”

So how does Carly find her flips? “I do lots of viewings every week, and also when I'm on those viewings I’m doing research. I'm finding out what properties are actually selling for in that area.

“I've bought some houses where I’ve just been cheeky and knocked on the door and asked them to sell me their house, or put a note through the door and said I would be interested in buying it.”

The properties she avoids are those she describes as a ‘shambles’.

"I'm not taking on a house that needs everything done because it's just not cost effective. I never add on any extra square footage. I don't go into the roof space and I don't build out because again it's not cost effective.

"They all get new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, sockets, spotlights, and all the appliances.

I’ll knock down walls, even supporting walls, and put beams in to make it open plan living. I put gas in and do a full re-wire and re-plumb, but I don't do everything on every property.”

The finished look she goes for is “newbuild show home”.

"It's really important for me that the houses are perfect, one, because obviously you get a better profit, and, two, because of integrity – this is somebody's home, they're probably paying the most money they've ever paid for anything and I want it to be unbelievable for them. I want them to walk in and nothing needs to changed. They can put their clothes in the wardrobe and their toothbrush in the bathroom and start living their life.

“And even with a step further than that I offer them a furniture package. Ninety-nine per cent of the time the people take the furniture because if they're taking a home like that, they want it to look like that.”

It could be argued that by snapping up low-cost properties, property developers are preventing first-time buyers and those on lower incomes getting on the housing ladder.

"Some of the houses need £25k spent on them, so the first-time buyer would need to find £25,000 in addition to what they’ve bought it for,” says Carly. “Also, many first-time buyers want a product like I'm producing. I have also found that a lot of my buyers are people who are downsizing.”

Carly says flipping properties has given her the freedom to do things that she enjoys.

"Somebody said to me that when you get to somewhere it’s really important that you turn back and give somebody a hand. And I feel I’ve got to a point where I am able to turn back and give somebody a hand. And that is why I decided to run the courses.”

Many people will wonder how they can get into flipping with little or no capital.

"I used my own money because at the time I didn't know there was any other way. Lots of people start off with friends and family lending them money. And a lot of private investors are happy to lend you money for a return.”

It all seems so good to be true, but there are, of course, stresses.

"Money is the biggest headache, and there’s the unexpected things that can happen. And we’ve all had tradesmen who say they’re coming and don’t come – that would nearly affect your mental health. But because I have been doing this for so long, I now have a list of trades and suppliers that I trust and that list is given to the people who train on my course.”

And her own dream home is coming along nicely.

"I've never built a house before. I definitely knew that I wanted to use a builder. I didn't want to self-build. I should be in it by next August and I’ll have achieved my dream.”

And reflecting on the last six flipping years, she says: “It's been a journey and it's been hard work. There’s been stress, tears and panic, but I wouldn't have changed it. I have a whole new life now. “