Science teacher James Appleton has been purchasing and remodeling homes for the past 16 years. In 2006, Appleton and his wife purchased a townhouse and did a complete remodel.

“In 2006 we bought our first townhouse when we got married,” Appleton said. “We fixed it up, new flooring, scraped popcorn ceiling, new fixtures, and sold it about a year later.”

Appleton and his wife Tara do all of the renovation work themselves. This has the advantage of saving them money while knowing that the work done is of the highest quality.

“It takes you three times longer to do it but you save a lot of money,” Appleton said.

The process of flipping a home includes a fair amount of bureaucracy. Depending on the location, a varying amount of building permits may be required from the city.

“You need building permits if you knock down walls, [or] if you redo plumbing or put in a hot water heater,” Appleton said.
According to Appleton, the demolition portion of the remodel isn’t exactly like television flipping shows make it sound.

“You can’t just swing the hammer and make a mess everywhere,” Appleton said. “You’ve got to plan out what to knock down and then call your brothers to come with hammers. They usually leave a bigger mess than what you started out with.”

After three other homes, this will be their fourth and final home to remodel and they plan to stay in it for a while.

“We just bought a new house in August but we’re going to stay in it forever. We’re pretty much done right now,” Appleton said.