Real Estate to Grow the Soul: Pro Tips from the Property Flippers

February 2025 Edition, Dan Palazzolo

Spring Valley investors come in a variety of models. Catering to full-time investors, side hustlers, and everything in between allows us to help make real estate investing attainable and customizable at all levels. Dan Palazzolo is an example of one of our investors who has found his 20 year real estate hobby to have immense benefit to his well-being. Along the way, Dan has gained valuable lessons for both life and business.

I'll let Dan tell his real estate tale,

My first property was the house I currently reside in that I purchased in 2007. It is in Anderson TWP, the neighborhood where I grew up. A 4 BR 2.5 Bath 2100 sq ft two story with basement. I purchased it for 10K!  A lot of people ask how the heck I got it so cheap... Short answer - The stars aligned. It was in the middle of multiple auctions that had fallen through. The real estate market was down, actually the opposite of what it is now. Lots of inventory and low prices. The house was foreclosed on and had water damage that scared off most people. My intention was to bull doze the house (if that gives you any idea of the condition) and just have the lot. I needed to double my money. The property was valued at about $30k and the demo cost would have been about $5k-$10k. When the bank accepted my offer, I went in and peeled off a few pieces of drywall and to my surprise the framing was in remarkably good shape. I changed my mind and decided to keep it and try to salvage it. I completely gutted it down to the studs and took out a HELOC and put it back together with that money for under $100k and have been living in it since 2008 and absolutely love it. 

In 2016, my mother passed away and I did some more work on my house and found that the labor was very cathartic and healing for my soul. Since 2017, I’ve done 2 condos and 2 more houses. I have a full-time job as an engineer, so this is a hobby for me. 

I found that working with my hands is fun, rewarding and healing. I do most of the work myself, if possible. I don’t pretend that I know how to do everything and will ask for help if I’m not good at something. I’ve done electrical, decking, drywall, tile, kitchen cabinet installation, flooring, vanities, toilets, etc…  I have also done some work that didn’t turn out too well and have needed to be reworked by a professional.

Dan partnered with Spring Valley to complete this featured renovation at 7021 Royalgreen Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45244.

Purchased for $275,000 this renovation resulted in an August 2024 resale of $650,000 ($50K over asking).

Tips from the Flipper

1. Don’t take shortcuts. Do the work as if you would be living there yourself for a long time.  Quality is imperative.

2. 99% of potential deals don’t work for me. Be patient. Don’t settle. Do your due diligence and go to auctions and open houses and set reasonable limits. Don’t’ get caught up in bidding wars. The numbers HAVE to make sense with as little risk as possible. I work on the premise of the deal having to be a slam dunk for me. Others may accept more risk.

3. Be humble, know or learn your limits, ask for help.

On this project: 

I did the oak floors myself and they were unfinished, so I had to stain and poly them. I completely messed it up with the stain and called on Faith Flooring to bail me out. Raji was excellent and came out right away to assess the problems I was having. He and his team got right to work and re-sanded, stained and polyurethane the floors and they turned out fantastic. I highly recommend them on flooring needs.

I wanted to do something nice for the master closet, so I called Closets By Design and they came out and did a stellar job at a fair price. They also helped design the closet in a way that really flowed well.

Bob Lillie of Home Improvements by Direct, featured in Spring Valley's November 2024 blog, was my guy for windows and was very responsive and came out to replace 25 windows for me.

The Financer

I find the lens in which Dan views his real estate investing inspiring. His personal outlook and penchant to grow through experiences adds a deeper dimension to his financial success.

Applying his tenants to the flip at 7021 Royalgreen resulted in a quick sale of $50,000 higher than asking. His vision to take this dated 1970's property into the modern era was perfectly executed by making the staircase the focal point of the home. His choice of slender horizontal metal balusters creates a sense of openness that allows the light to radiate through from the large windows and captures your eyes the moment you enter the home. Retaining the single wood post stays with the current trend of mixing materials. He blends these design choices and color palate throughout the home tying together the sophisticated appeal creating a home that he rehabbed as through he would be living there himself for a long time.

Spring Valley Bank is your local community bank offering our investors SOLUTIONS in 2025:

• Quick decisions with in-house underwriting

• Certainty to close on eligible loans

• Availability of real estate & banking experts to listen & stay connected

• Flexible financing options for flips, refis & income producing properties

• Dependability of an established banking institution

7021 Royalgreen Dr, Anderson

Special Thanks To:

TJ Gusman of EXP Realty and his business partners are incredible. TJ helps me find opportunities and then sell the finished results. He is fantastic and a good friend. He is also 100% on top of the housing market and is trustworthy. He will tell you what will and what won’t work but will let you make the final call.

Remo Loreto my Spring Valley Bank Loan Consultant has been an amazing person to work with throughout all of these deals. I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else!

A monthly series showcasing tips from professional property flippers partnering with Spring Valley.