Kerri was almost ready to flip her fourth house. The first one had made only a marginal profit due to some unforeseen issues that had cost both time and money. But she had learned some valuables lessons, and more importantly, had managed to meet her financial obligations with the bank. That made it easier to get a second loan for her next project. When she flipped that one, she had come much closer to her estimated profit and was forming relationships with the bank and some other contractors.
The loan for her third home flip had come with a better interest rate, and the profit she made on it was exactly what she had estimated. She had finished it on time as well, allowing her to snag the property she was finishing up now. This was by far her most extensive project, and she was ahead of schedule. Kerri had managed to get some discounts put into place for materials that would also help with future costs.
For her next project, Keri was hoping to rehab an old farmhouse that had been vacant for nearly two years. She had walked around it several times since she started flipping properties. It had finally come on the market about seven months ago, and Kerri had gone to see the inside more than once. On one visit, she had heard a lot of creaking and moaning, which she had hoped did not indicate major structural issues. If the price eventually became within her reach, she would have it thoroughly checked before making an offer.
While Kerri was waiting for the delivery of the kitchen appliances, she had been surfing the web. If Kerri got the farmhouse, she was looking to restore it to period appearances as much as possible. To that end, she was checking junkyards and restoration warehouses for cabinets and hardware. Word was that the price might be reduced soon, and the hope was her current project would be sold as soon as it was done. The realtor she worked with had put out feelers and said she had a few nibbles already.
The knock at the door brought her back to the present. It was the truck with the appliances. They brought them all in and got them hooked up and running. All that was left was to call in the cleaning crew to make sure all the construction debris and dust was gone, then her realtor could start bringing in the buyers she had lined up. It didn't take long, and after several competing bids, Kerri accepted one. She was thrilled as it exceeded her initial profit estimate by nearly $16,000, finally giving her a bit of a cushion.
The buyer was pre-approved, so as soon as a short closing date was set, she checked on the farmhouse again. When Kerri saw the price has indeed dropped, she called her realtor to put in a bid, then called her bank to set up a meeting with the loan department. By now, she had a good reputation with the bank, so did not think she would have any problem securing the loan. Besides the farmhouse, there was also about seventeen acres of property.
One of the contractors she worked with had mentioned in the past that he was looking to buy a piece of property that he could develop into a small subdivision of ten to fifteen homes. Kerri calculated that once she had the farmhouse purchased, she could look into dividing the property and selling a portion to the contractor if he was still interested. Depending on what he was willing to pay, that alone might cover the majority of her loan. That, along with the profit she was hoping to make when she sold the farmhouse, would set her up.
Kerri stood at the gravesite, watching as the tiny casket slowly lowered into the ground. Other than her, there was just a minister and two workers ready to fill in the grave and set the small stone. She thought back to how she had come to be here watching the bones of a child long gone, finally buried next to her mother's grave.
She thought of the night a ghost had come to her and begged her to find her child and finally bring her the peace she had waited so long for. And then she thought about the woman that had made love to her that night… or rather the ghost that had touched her very soul. It was the first and last time she ever saw Annabelle, but she hoped in her heart that she had crossed over and was now holding her child in her arms once again.
Kerri had been with a number of women since she was sixteen, some more memorable than others, but Annabelle was one she would never forget. As she stood there, she thought about how she had come to learn about Annabelle and finally meet her.
A few weeks later, after closing on the house she just finished, she bid on the farmhouse. She had made sure that the house was sound even though it was over one hundred years old, but was going to need a lot of work. The inside would need to be gutted, and the plumbing and electrical systems completely updated. Insulation had to be added, as well as a new furnace, water heater, and AC. It only took a few days before her bid was accepted.
The basement was just a dirt floor with a low ceiling, so that would need to be dug out and a new cement floor and footings poured. That was the first thing that would have to be done, so Kerri set the process in motion. The contractor said the best way was to raise the house, dig it out, and replace any utility connections coming into the house as needed. When that was done, the new floor and footings could be poured, and the furnace and water heater brought in before lowering the house again.
When Kerri went to see the house before the work started, she heard the moaning again. It seemed more intense this time and sent a slight chill down her spine, but she waved it off as the wind was rather strong that day. She took measurements and pictures of every room so she could start drawing up some plans. As this would be quite a significant project, Kerri was allowing herself six to eight months to complete it.
On other projects, Kerri had brought in contractors as needed, while doing much of the other work herself or with only one or two part-time helpers. For this flip, she was planning on hiring a full-time crew of five or six workers. She could likely keep one laborer busy just hauling out debris and moving construction materials around or running to the hardware store when something was needed.
The property also had an old barn that was beyond saving as well as a newer garage and two other small buildings. Part of her plan was to tear down the barn and use some of that wood in restoring the farmhouse, then hopefully using some of it in trade for other items or just selling it outright. Old barn wood was in demand and might fetch a handsome price. Something else she added to her list to research.
Initially, she had been considering just tearing down the other two buildings. But when she checked out the larger of the two, saw that it was built to be made into an apartment or coach house. The outside was finished nicely, and the inside was just an open space. Still, the electric and plumbing had been roughed in with insulation and perimeter walls already added. Most of the fixtures for the bathroom and kitchen were stored inside. A pile of flooring material was even there. It would really just need the interior walls to be added and appliances purchased. It would make a great mother-in-law or rental unit and increase her profit if she finished it.
While she was waiting for the basement of the house to be done, she began the teardown of the barn, storing the wood in the garage where it could be locked up. Some wood had already gone missing in the time the property was vacant. The large support beams that were too big to fit in there were stored behind the garage, where they were out of sight and covered with tarps. The smaller of the two extra buildings was also torn down, and several dumpsters of debris hauled off.
While she was doing the work, she continued hearing odd noises and what sounded like moaning or crying coming from the direction of the farmhouse. A couple of her workers also said they heard noises a few times, but only on really windy days. One evening as she was locking up the coach house, she could swear she saw a light in one of the windows of the house, as well as a shadow moving across the room. Since that was impossible, as the house was still raised and all power disconnected, she chalked it up to the setting sun and the clouds.
Every now and then, someone would stop by and talk to her about what she was doing. A few were neighbors who said they had known the family that had owned the farm for several generations. One of the people mentioned one day they had heard the place was haunted, but that was just a rumor as far as they knew. Kerri decided to do some research before going any further. Not that she believed in ghosts, but if there was something odd about the house, it might just be better to tear everything down and start from scratch. Or maybe even just sell all the property to the contractor looking to build a subdivision.
After a bit of research, she found a child had gone missing, and the body had never been found. The mother was convinced the child was still alive and had vowed never to leave so that if the child ever returned, she would still be there. At the time, there had just been a small house, and when the woman died, her husband had sold it off. The new owner tore down the existing house and built the current farmhouse, as well as adding quite a bit of acreage. When he got sick, he sold it to the family that had still owned it for several generations when she finally bought it.
Kerri did more research, but nothing turned up about the rumors of the house being haunted. Everything she read about the missing child seemed to point to the child had just gone missing and was presumed dead. One theory was the child was killed by a pack of wolves that lived in the area at the time. No foul play was ever suspected. She finally decided to see if she could reach any of the family members of the last owners left to see if any of them had ever heard anything.
She finally reached one of the children and after explaining who she was, brought up the subject of the missing child. The woman who had agreed to talk to her, hesitated a bit, then finally answered.
"We all heard those stories, and one of my great aunts told stories about seeing and hearing the ghost of the child's mother. But she said the ghost was not considered evil, just that she was still waiting for her child. Other than that, my aunt didn't go into any details. I heard some strange noises from time to time that I suppose could be interpreted as crying or moaning, but it was an old house with all sorts of creaks. I never saw any ghosts, and the feeling in my family was the ghost, if there was one, had finally given up."
"Thank you for talking to me about this. It makes me feel better. I hope you will come and see the house when I get through with it. One other thing, are there any family photos of any parts of the house that I might be able to get a copy of? I would like to restore it as much as possible to its original style."
"I think my sister has some old photos. Let me check, and I will get back to you."
"Thank you again."
Two weeks later, the new basement and footings had been poured, and the new furnace installed. The house was scheduled to be lowered by the end of the week, so she could have the crew inside and gutting it the beginning of the next week. Once that was done, the electrical and plumbing contractors could come in and do the work to update everything inside. While they were working in there, others in her crew could start working on finishing the coach house.
The lease on her current apartment was almost up, and she was considering moving into the new unit instead of renewing it. That would allow her to keep an eye on everything and save some commuting time as she was forty-five minutes away now. She decided to get the coach house done first. The area was not that big, and Kerri felt it could mostly be done in less than a month. Once she moved in, she could spend her evenings putting on the finishing touches. As soon as it was livable, she moved in