Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
Over the past two months Louie and Annie Ramirez – sweethearts from South St. Paul Secondary in the late ’90s – have been diligently working to renovate a yellow farmhouse-style home at 259 18th Ave. Through clouds of sawdust and piles of construction debris they’ve slowly seen their vision for the home come into focus and are excited to reveal it to the public. It has four bedrooms, two baths, a patio atop the flat-roofed garage and will hit the market by the end of March.
This is the latest home in the city the couple has prepared for the next generation. Over the past four years, they’ve bought and renovated 17 homes in South St. Paul and three in other nearby communities. For them, flipping a home isn’t just about turning a profit.
“We know this market because we live here, and we’re trying to keep these homes affordable,” said Louie. “Some people don’t love flippers, but these are properties that no one else is going to buy because they’re in need of a lot of work.”
Said Annie, “A lot of people don’t want to tackle projects or deal with inspections. Others appreciate not having to get rid of everything because we buy ‘as is.’”
Prior to making this their primary job, Annie worked as a house cleaner for 20 years and Louie for his exterior construction company – LR Builders – which still operates today, although on the back burner.
The couple was quick to credit the support of the South St. Paul community for their success, saying 90% of the homes they’ve purchased to flip are from family, friends, and friends of friends.
The couple typically purchases homes from seniors who are downsizing, or homes on the market because the owner passed away. They’re typically priced in the low-to-mid $200,000s and require significant work. Occasionally they’re full of belongings that must be discarded. When that’s the case, the couple holds a glorified garage sale of sorts, allowing people to come through the house and fill a tote with whatever they want for $5. Then, they donate or dispose of whatever is left over. They did this at a property in January and had dozens of people salvage items.
“There are a lot of older homes in town that people have lived in for 60 years and it’s hard to build our community with young families because no one sells here,” said Louie. “It’s just how our community is…. My parents are in their late 60s and live in a big 2-story, 4-bedroom home. But like my mom says, ‘where would I go? If I had to go buy a small rambler right now no one could afford it.’”
The most expensive house they’ve sold was a Spanish style house up on the hill on 17th overlooking the cemetery. It went for $525,000, which is unheard of in South St. Paul, according to Louie. He said homes going for $300,000 sell in a day but that hardly anyone is in the market for [South St. Paul] homes priced at $400,000 or higher.
The couple usually works on two homes simultaneously, and each takes a month or so to complete. They do most of the work themselves, including flooring, trim, and bathroom and kitchen remodeling. They work with their close friend Karen Mahaffey, a retired realtor, to complete necessary paperwork. Electrical, plumbing and other critical jobs are handled by local professionals. When staging the homes for open houses, they use their own furniture and therefore at some point almost every month their own family eats dinner on a card table with folding chairs.
The husband-wife duo brings the public along on their house-flipping journey by regularly posting before and after photos of homes and other content on their social media. Their followers get a glimpse of stories that may be funny or unnerving. On one account, they entered a mansion and found two potbelly pigs quite at home in the living room. Another time, Louie was running from a bat flying around in the basement and banged his head on a low stairwell ceiling.
Annie said perhaps their funniest story is of the time they were picking up cabinets from an acquaintance in St. Paul to use for one of their projects.
“We were bringing pieces of the cabinet to the truck and suddenly heard gunshots and people yelling, and this was kind of when things were unsettled around town,” said Annie. “We both started running back to the home and the owner was standing at the doorway laughing. She said, ‘it’s Memorial Day and they’re doing a tribute down the street.’ We were taking cover, and she’s just laughing at us…. We laughed so hard leaving there.”
The couple has learned a lot over the past four years and can now step into a home and know almost instantly if it’s viable to flip. It’s also become a family affair. They have three kids – Owen, 22; Lily, 19; and Millie, 16. Owen and Louie both have a realtor’s license, and Owen has been working on projects with his parents for over a year now.
To follow the Ramirez house-flipping journey, find them on Instagram @annie_ramirez1.
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