My Real Estate Journey and Finding PropertyProof

Growing up in Houston, my love for all things involving art and design began because of my mom. She was a professional interior designer in the Tanglewood, Memorial, and West University areas and took me to countless fabric stores, design showrooms, and even garage sales across the city searching for the best materials and latest trends to use in her client’s homes and offices. I remember realizing as a child that the opportunity to create a beautiful environment for others was exciting and an honor. While my love for art and interior design continues to grow, I have also enjoyed expanding my interest and time into real estate.

The Long Road to Investing in Houston

My first investment was a townhome near downtown Houston. Imagine a 1970's apartment complex that was turned into condominiums (think Three’s Comany). It was a fantastic first place to live and I saw the potential despite the outdated textured wallpaper, eggplant kitchen appliances, and dusty old carpet. Having basically no extra money to fix-up the place, one day while my husband was running errands, I started the “renovation.” Starting the renovation was me with a screwdriver tearing up the carpet room by room. We walked on the dusty concrete floor for a couple months while deciding on the next more costly design steps. Should we stain the concrete or have classic hard wood floors installed? We went with having hard woods installed and moved onto removing that seriously outdated wallpaper. Kilz in hand, we decided to save money and do the work ourselves. After days of misery and a terrible allergic reaction (my husband and the Kilz), we came up with the money for some professional help finishing the removal and repairing the sheetrock.

Good Results Leads to a Search for More

In the end it was an adorable first place to live and 15 months later we listed the 1100 square foot condominium. Original purchase price was $88,000, now with the upgrades and improvements we listed for $117,000. After expenses, I made about 23% profit. Not great, but not bad either for a first investment! After several more challenging but exciting real estate investments, I am now focusing on mult-family properties across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Colorado. As I searched for properties, it was difficult to find the details to confirm the property owners, tax information, transactions, and other property details. Expensive, clumsy resources are all too common across the internet. I knew there had to be an easier way and that is when I first considered PropertyProof. Thank you! Michelle


P.S. A simple address search from PropertyProof will help you find your next property investment.