Christina, Joe & Mike
Christina: Real Estate Agent, Home Flipper
Joe: Home Flipper, Retired Police/Homicide Detective, Christina’s Husband
Mike: General Contractor, Christina’s Brother
Cartonsville, MD (Covering All of carroll county)
Christina & her husband, Joe
When it comes to making a purchase, Christina and her team (made up of her brother, Mike and husband, Joe), look for the house that’s most structurally sound, but cosmetically as horrendous as they can possibly find. This means trash-filled, chipped paint, bug-infested, and even with animal feces covering the floor. When the team can find a house like this, and work the most magic with the least amount of money, that’s where the biggest profit will be for them.
Christina and her husband, Joe (a former law enforcement and homicide detective) bought their first investment house in 2007, and have been flipping houses ever since. When Joe retired he went from being a police officer in the homicide unit to working full time with his wife and brother-in-law. Joe does a lot of the heavy lifting which is good because he’s an avid weight lifter. But the most interesting aspect to Joe? He uses his previous skillset and expertise in law enforcement in his home flipping business. Because they are purchasing houses that are sight unseen, Joe will use his training in surveillance to gain intel on what might be happening inside the home that they’re not allowed to enter. He uses binoculars, looking for evidence, wearing disguises etc to determine if someone is living there and what the condition of the house might be.
Joe especially loves the “treasure finding” journey that every new house presents. Joe uses his training in detective work to track down vital pieces of information to the treasures that he finds, to deduce if they’re trash or treasure. Naturally, he’s all about the treasure!
Mike: Christina’s Brother
Christina’s brother, Mike, oversees construction for the business. Mike was previously working for a larger company, but his persistent sister convinced to leave his job with benefits and work for her full time. He hasn’t looked back yet. Christina is the brains, realtor, designer and visionary behind the business. She’s always dreaming up designs for her houses that may or may not need to be reined in by her partners. She’s also the numbers mastermind though, and businesswoman – making connections and always working toward the next flip.
While foreclosure auctions can be scary if you don’t know what to expect, nothing frightens Christina. She shows up, cashier’s check in hand that may or may not be used, and makes her offer on a house that she knows she’ll never get to see before the purchase. Worst case in her mind is tearing the whole thing down and starting over…and she could handle that! They go through the MLS for most houses which means that Christina is the buyer’s agent and listing agent, and they aim for about 5-6 houses at any given time to stay busy. They are poised to complete 15-20 within the calendar year.
Working in home flipping can be aggressive business. Home owners who don’t want to vacate. Sub-contractors who are trying to scam you on a deal. The list goes on and on as it relates to the potentially volatile situations that they encounter. Joe is trained in deescalating situations and determining if someone is lying to them or not. Additionally, when the couple is knocking on doors in a bad neighborhood, asking if the home owners want to sell, it’s Joe who’s doing the knocking…just like when he was a detective.
On top of the business, Christina and Joe are raising four kids…so you could say that staying busy is really all they know how to do. The threesome are fun, likable, goofy and take on some incredibly dirty and distressed homes…