The Flip

Ron had become very successful in renovating distressed properties for profit. He'd started with one small house he picked up after his divorce. Without the distractions of family life, he'd started improving the place on the weekends. After three months, and several projects, he finally decided to hold a little party to show off his handiwork. He was surprised to have three of his guests make offers to buy the little house, and when all was said and done he sold it for nearly twice what he had invested in it. After that, there was no looking back. He simplified his life by disposing of almost everything except his tools and personal effects and began hunting for houses that would give him new opportunities.

Large and small, the properties he flipped spanned the entire state of Texas. After ten years, he'd learned which houses were great deals, and which ones were best left alone. But this time, something was different. Down on the Gulf Coast, this deal was two houses for one price. He'd downloaded the photos from the web page and gone through them one by one after enlarging them as much as he could on the computer screen. He had to admit he was puzzled, and had a little trouble matching the interior photos with the exteriors of the two houses. After several hours, he figured he had them all matched up and looked carefully at what was presented before him.

The newer house was a single story ranch with an asphalt shingle exterior.