Junior Nic Tilley loves flipping houses.

For two years, he has successfully flipped a total of three houses all located in different parts of the world. These include one in Australia, one in Africa, and one in downtown Grand Rapids, all of which were flipped for multiple, various reasons.

As for the home in Australia, Nic and his family purchased the house to live in and decided that they wanted to renovate it due to its age. 

After flipping that home, he found that his dad was the person who encouraged him to continue working on houses as he felt it was something that Nic would benefit from in the future. 

“My dad always said it was a good opportunity to learn,” Nic said. “And, in the future, instead of paying so much money and needing so much money to pay someone, you can do it yourself.”

As for the home in Africa, it was flipped for the sole reason of helping others, which Nic has discovered he loves to do.

“[The house] in Africa was for a group of people who couldn’t afford to renovate a house or couldn’t afford to hire people to do it,” Nic said. “They weren’t living in a clean or safe space, so we helped them renovate and fix it up.”

Through working on this home, Nic found that he enjoyed helping others and doing good for their community.

“It felt really nice to know that you’re helping someone that struggles in life and maybe didn’t get as lucky of an opportunity as we did,” Nic said.

As for the renovations to the homes themselves, Nic focuses mostly on the reconstructions of the home, which he has learned a lot about since he began.

He has also learned that this is not only something that he will benefit from at the moment as it is a good source of money, but he also believes that this will be quite helpful in his future if he needs to do work on a home.

“It’s a good way to make money,” Nic said. “In the future, instead of paying lots of money, like people who [pay] two grand for a painter to come and fix your walls, you can learn [how to do it] with someone else and fix up the house.”

Nic has also found that flipping homes serves as something almost therapeutic in terms of both stresses and knowing that this will be quite helpful for him later in life.

“I guess doing this helps me feel calmer,” Nic said. “If you have a lot of stress on your mind, you can just come in and do something that will help you later in the future.”

Furthermore, flipping all of these homes will also be very beneficial to both Nic and his family, as it will become a source of income after his father retires. And, the house that they are fixing up now—the one located in Grand Rapids—is just the beginning of this new journey for Nic and his family.

As for Nic himself, soon he will be continuing his passion for helping people on a trip he plans to take this summer.

“I go on missionary trips over the summer,” Nic said. “I think this year we are going somewhere in Alaska, and I think we are going to flip a house there.”

In the long run, though he does not see himself continuing to flip homes, he sees himself pursuing something that helps others because that is something that he has found quite special about fixing houses.

With that said, however, he is currently thoroughly enjoying it, and he also believes that it is something that many others should consider while thinking about a first job due to its bountiful benefits.

“I would recommend this for people,” Nic said. “It is a good first job and good first thing to do, so in the future you can be more financially stable.”

With all things considered, Nic believes that flipping houses holds so much more than meets the eye. To him, it is not only fixing a house. To him, it is much more meaningful. 

“[The best part is] really hanging out with your family and taking a sense of pride that you are fixing a house and that you can actually do something that not many people can do,” Nic said. “Anyone could work at a fast food place and just flip patties and all that; not many people can go to a house and flip it so that people actually want it.”