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V O L . X X X I N O. V I I A P R I L 7 , 2 0 2 5 16 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G F O C U S So is her colleague Adam Parent, a more experienced flipper who once encountered "vicious" bats he had to pay a wildlife expert to remove: "It's not a fun experience," he says. Portside's Harris has seen — and smelled — much worse at run-down houses her flipper clients have bought, from cat urine to stale smoke and dead animals "in various stages of grossness." Bigger picture Nationwide in 2024, close to 300,000 single-family homes and condos were flipped, representing around 7.6% of total home sales, according to Attom, a California-based land, property data and real estate analyt- ics firm. e percentage was lower in Maine at 5.5%, or 1,117 houses flipped last year. at puts Maine in at No. 34 among the 50 states. "is suggests either relatively fewer opportunities for investors or that they are shying away from low profits," says Rob Barber, Attom's CEO. While profit margins in Maine ranked in the middle of the pack, the average gross return on investment — before accounting for mortgage interest, property taxes, renovation expenses and other costs – inched up to 30.9% in 2023 from 29.4% in 2023 for 1,179 flips. e increase in the average number of days to flip a house in Maine was more pronounced, from 173 days in 2023 to 184 days last year. Although renovation costs are not covered in the report, experts say they typically range from 20% to 33% of a property's after-repair value. Robert O'Brien, a Portland- based senior housing specialist with Camoin Associates, says that Maine's old housing stock makes the state fertile ground for flipping, especially in inland areas. DIYers in Lisbon Falls In the Androscoggin County town of Lisbon Falls, Jennifer Larochelle is a beauty salon owner who beautifies houses as a side hustle. "I love the before and after, but I really like the process," says Larochelle, who's been refurbishing houses since childhood when she helped her parents do so for rentals. Today, she spends evenings and weekends spiffing up dilapidated homes she buys in cash, including some in fore- closure auctions. Working with a hired crew, she does a lot of the demo work herself as well as interior design. "I would do it full time if I could, but I haven't yet figured out how to transition," she says. "Maybe when I'm retired from hair." While most projects take about three months, finding contractors is a growing challenge. "Everybody is charging an arm and a leg for not good quality work, but I'm a position where I can try somebody new out," Larochelle says. Elsewhere in the town, Patrick Bolduc, a logging business owner and his wife, who works in IT at MaineHealth, also use for free time to flip houses. at means working evenings and weekends, and during "mud season" when it's off- season for logging. "ere's no retirement working in the woods, so this is our retirement plan," says Bolduc, who says the couple has bought, fixed up and sold about a dozen homes. ough most are single- family abodes purchased at auction, one was a duplex they kept as a duplex. e couple, frequently aided by fam- ily members including their son who's a plumber, started with a red-white-and- blue house they bought at auction and nicknamed the "Clown House." Upon entering for the first time, they discovered that the previous owners had left everything behind – "even the guy's shoes and stuff," Consigli Construction Co., Inc. Construction Managers & General Contractors | consigli.com Building Maine's Most Complex Projects LEARN MORE Colby College Gordon Center for Creative & Performing Arts MASSACHUSET TS | CONNEC TICUT | RHODE ISLAND NEW HAMPSHIRE | MAINE | VERMONT 855.500.IESC | www.iesc1.com I N T E R S T A T E Delivering Value Through Innovation Interstate delivers exceptional value on every project for every customer using advanced technology, in-house engineering and design-build, lean methodologies, smart material placement, and UL listed state-of-the-art prefabrication encompassing our values of commitment, safety, integrity, and innovation. Valued Partner. Trusted Employer. Telecom & Network Systems » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E [Data] suggests either relatively fewer opportunities for investors or that they are shying away from low profits. — Rob Barber Attom P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F AT T O M Rob Barber, CEO of Attom

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