Meet Denika, a house flipper and lover of travel. Denika and her husband Brad own Almburg Properties & have an inspiring journey that has led them to home flipping & extensive travel post-home sale. (I mean just look at this amazing home!). Check out our interview with her.
Where do you live?
We live in West Des Moines. We love to travel, but our house is so special, that being home is kind of like being on vacation.
Where are you from?
I’m originally from Adel, IA and Brad is from West Des Moines, IA.
We first met at a wedding in Iowa, while I was living in NM and Brad lived in CO. We began dating when we both moved back to Iowa in 2004.
What do you do professionally?
We own Almburg Properties, Inc.; where we buy and sell real estate, i.e., flip houses. I also do remote, digital marketing consulting work.
What do you do for fun?
We love to have fun! Travel is #1, but we also love dining, camping, skiing, scuba diving and being on the water.
Tell us how you started flipping home? What inspired that?
I flipped my first two houses back in 2003 when living in Albuquerque, NM after reading a book called, “Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!”
Brad and I have been flipping houses together as a hobby for about 10 years. In 2014, with a desire for flexibility (something I couldn’t find in an employer in Iowa), stress-reduction and elimination of work-travel (he spent up to 200 nights a year in hotels).
Brad left his data center career where he served data center clients such as Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, eBay and Disney, among others; and I left my full-time digital marketing job to start operating Almburg Properties. Our goals were to have the flexibility to work remotely; be able to have dinner together every night and have the freedom to travel and explore the world at our own pace. We celebrated Almburg Properties first anniversary last August!
What don’t people know about flipping homes that is interesting?
Flipping houses is hard work. Those HGTV shows make it look really easy. It’s not.
Have you always loved traveling?
I have loved traveling for as long as I can remember. In 1986, my family attended the World’s Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia – it was called EXPO 86 – Exposition on Transportation and Communication. I think there was something about that experience that really sparked the travel bug in me.
In 5th grade, I flew unaccompanied for the first time, when a classmate and I went to visit my aunt and uncle in the state of Washington. I traveled unaccompanied a few other times before I even had a license to drive – once internationally, where I was detained by Customs Officers, because they thought I was a runaway.
Brad really began traveling in the Air Force, where he spent time in Europe and the Middle East, as well as lived on the island of Guam.
What is your most memorable trip you’ve taken from $$ you got from a flip?
After selling the houses in New Mexico, I traveled in Asia for about 6 months, which was a very memorable experience.
Since Brad and I have been flipping houses full time, we have explored 4 areas of the United States that required a little more time than we ever had with our corporate vacation days. This included Hawaii, Colorado/Utah, California and Michigan.
Last fall, we camped our way across Southern Colorado via The Million Dollar Highway and the Alpine Loop National Backcountry Byway, which is four-wheel drive only. This trip also included an amazing house-boating experience with friends on Lake Powell and Arches National Park in Moab, Utah.
Winter included a trip to the Devil’s Thumb Ranch in CO, followed by the X Games with friends in Aspen. We take at least one ski trip a year, but this year, Brad extended his trip to include Steamboat Springs to ski with his guy friends and a snowmobiling trip in WY with another group of guys.
For Spring Break, we visited friends n Fresno, CA before doing a slow road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway between Monterey and Santa Barbara, CA. This included a tour of the Hearst Castle; the 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach and Big Sur State Park. We then jetted of from LAX for an outdoor-adventure to Kauai, Hawaii, where we hiked the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali Coast, explored the Waimea Canyon and the remote, Polihale Beach.
Over the summer, we took a 10-day camping trip to Michigan’s UP via the SS Badger Overnight Ferry between Wisconsin and Michigan. This trip included Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; and, explored some of Ernest Hemingway’s favorite spots. The highlight of the trip was a fabulous stay at The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, where we were upgraded to the Laura Bush Suite to celebrate my 40th birthday.
How often do you flip homes/year?
Our goal was to flip 4 houses this year (2016). It looks like we will end the year with 6. Overall, we have done 16 flips.
How many trips have you been able to take?
We have taken 4 extended trips since we started Almburg Properties full time and we plan to take one more trip this winter before we begin 2017!
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Make sure to follow Denika & her journeys on Instagram.