A Nantucket Affair (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove #4)(14)

“That’s almost as much as I have. I’m impressed. And you’d really be willing to invest some of it? You could lose it all.”

Beth smiled. “You’re the best investment I can think of. We won’t do this unless we’re sure of it and that we leave plenty of margin for error. For unexpected expenses.”

When they met Bob the next day to tour the house, Beth’s excitement grew as they went from room to room. The house was small and needed a lot of work, but it was mostly all cosmetic, besides the mold in the bathroom from poor ventilation. Chase gave Bob a quote and his face paled.

“I’ll be honest with you. I don’t really have the time, energy or the money to do this. I guess I’ll call the realtor and just tell her to sell it as is.”

“What price did she suggest?” Chase asked.

“Not as much as I’d hoped. But it’s better than nothing.” He mentioned a number that was quite a bit lower than Beth expected. She could tell by Chase’s eyes that he felt the same.

“Bob, could you give us just a minute?” Beth pulled Chase outside and they quickly agreed on a price to offer Bob—a bit more than what the realtor suggested as they figured if it went to market, it would likely go above asking.

“Bob, if you’re interested, we’d like to make you an offer for the house.” Chase mentioned the number he had in mind, and for the first time, Beth saw a look of hope on Bob’s face.

“Are you serious? If you are, I gladly accept your offer.” He looked around the house. “Will you keep it? Or fix it up and sell?”

“Fix it up and sell. It’s something Beth and I have been looking to get into.”

“Well, it sounds like it’s a win for all of us, then.”





And it had been. They learned so much doing that flip. Beth had enjoyed every minute of it. She was proud of the design work she’d done, and Chase’s remodeling had made the cottage absolutely adorable. They’d modernized it and added an island in the kitchen—all new appliances, white subway tile, which gave it a clean, bright look—and they added French doors where the sliders had opened to a big screened-in porch. They’d also redone the bathrooms completely, bringing in an expert to remove the mold, add vents, and sleek, glass shower doors which gave it a spa feel.

When they gave the listing to Lauren, she’d been impressed, as she’d been the realtor Bob met with initially, so she’d seen the ‘before’. Once the open house was held and they accepted one of the multiple bids, they realized a bigger profit than they’d expected. And from then on, she and Chase were addicted.

Lauren actually found them their next flip. It was a similar situation, a smaller home that needed lots of cosmetic work to be attractive to buyers. Most people wanted something turnkey that didn’t need a lot of work. She showed them the home a few days before a scheduled open house, said the buyer was motivated and if the offer was good enough, they’d accept and cancel the open house.

“I’d really rather not do an open house, if I don’t have to,” Lauren admitted.

And that one had been a no-brainer, too. Chase agreed and less than two months later, Lauren sold the house again for a much higher price. Beth and Chase were feeling a little cocky after the second flip went so well. It almost seemed too easy.

She hoped that this third house would go as smoothly. She didn’t see why it wouldn’t. Chase was already aware of all the repairs that needed to be made. As long as they didn’t find any surprises along the way, they should be looking at another healthy profit in a few months.





Chase returned to the office a little after noon, with the subs and chips for their lunch. They sat at a small round table in his office and spent the half hour enjoying their lunch, chatting about the progression of the various projects Chase had going. Just as they were finishing up, his cell phone rang.

“This is Chase. Oh, hey, Barry. So what did you find in there?”

Beth watched as Chase’s expression shifted from amused to concerned as he ended the call and told Barry he’d be right there.

“Is that Barry Holmes, the exterminator?” Beth knew they had him going to check out the smell in the closet and to remove whatever had died there.

“Yeah. He said it’s a family of squirrels, four of them, that crawled in somehow and got stuck there. While he was removing them, though, he found something he wants me to take a look at. Something to do with the pipes. Might be nothing, or might be kind of expensive as I’d have to hire someone to do that work.”

“Well, let’s hope it’s something minor.” Beth felt a twinge of worry, which she quickly brushed aside. Chase would be able to handle it, whatever it was.

Chase took his last bite, crumpled up the paper wrapping and tossed it in the trash. He handed her his almost empty bag of chips.

“Here, finish these off. I’m going to head out. I’ll fill you in later.”





Chapter 9





“So, I have an idea I want to try. An experiment with some different targeting on FB. Do you mind if I change the ads up a little?” Kate asked. She and Lisa were sitting at Lisa’s kitchen island. Kate had come by for lunch and to chat with Lisa about her Facebook ads for the inn. They were sitting side by side, with their laptops in front of them.