Building new life

The sound of a swinging hammer and the buzz of a power saw can be heard by all of Brent and Destini Malone’s neighbors in the Cahaba Project. 

As house flippers who give forgotten-about homes their stories back, their flips show a striking resemblance to the beloved HGTV home improvement show “Fixer Upper” — both sharing a love for modern-rustic details.

“We were originally into watching ‘Trademark Properties,’” Brent Malone said. “But now and then, we like to watch ‘Fixer Upper’ because we have the same sense of style. We try to use a lot more creativity than money.” 

The artsy, southpaw Clay-Chalkville High School graduate followed in father Terry Malone’s footsteps of home building and remodeling — something his dad has been doing for three decades. 

Tackling house flipping for Terry and Brent Malone began as more of a side project sparked by their love for character-rich older homes.

“My dad taught me most of what I know, and I get my creativity from my mom,” Brent Malone said. “In 2006, we found a 1930s Tudor home that needed a full renovation in the south East Lake area, so there it began. We were in the business of new home construction and remodeling and didn’t realize that ‘flipping’ would become so much of a passion.” 

That enthusiasm rubbed off on his wife, Destini Malone, who is also a medical lab scientist at Grandview Medical Center. 

Ten years and 13 houses later, there have been some great experiences and a couple of lessons learned. 

“Countless hours of market analysis, online and courthouse research as well as old-fashioned door knocking asking, ‘I love your house. Will you sell it?’ has gained us the knowledge to know the right deal when we see it,” Brent Malone said. “All of our investment properties have been built pre-1940, most of them being 1920s. These homes, being 80-plus years old, all needed major renovations.”

Using more creativity than money means there’s a lot of brainstorming on the design front.

“(Destini) gives me the female perspective on what women look for when purchasing a house, and she always picks out the paint colors,” Brent Malone said. “We feel it’s all in the small details, and that’s what makes a house a home.”

Because much of the character — original chandeliers and crystal door knobs — have usually long since disappeared, the Malones initially make a list of things to restore. 

Often, they are close — once finding an original arts-and-crafts period chandelier wrapped in a 1924 Birmingham News paper in an attic. It was then rewired and restored. 

“Three of the properties we purchased were in estate form, and all three were like time capsules with antique furniture and belongings that had been left behind,” Brent Malone said. “We used some of it to create bath vanities, built-ins and even some reclaimed wood to custom build a range vent hood.”  

In fact, most of their distinctive pieces come from their current projects.  

“When we demo walls or even entire sections of a house, we will have those 80-year-old boards that have the patina that is so trendy right now, so we put them to use whereas several years ago, those materials would have been trash,” Brent Malone said. “We also enjoy estate sales.”

Other notable finds include a hidden cloth bag full of gold jewelry, a 1927 barber’s chair, a 1920s cash register and an original factory-complete owners manual to a 1972 Ferrari 365 Dino.

Making dream homes also comes with its minor disappointments. Their home on Parkway Drive is next on the list to be flipped soon, but work began months ago to make it habitable. 

Cahaba Project homes are known for their original hardwood floors, but new hardwoods had to be installed after ripping out the existing flooring and subfloor because it was rotted all the way through — something they weren’t expecting. What is now a three-bedroom, one-bathroom will be transformed by adding a master suite, a new kitchen, a den, two bedrooms and baths and a two-car garage. 

When they started, there were not many reality TV shows that made flipping look easy. 

“They don’t show all of the unseen structural surprises and how long most of the mechanical jobs take to complete,” Brent Malone said. 

One lesson learned is that location matters most. 

“The first house we flipped took a while to sell,” Brent Malone said. “Through trial and error, we’ve learned that location is key.”

Developing one’s own carpentry skills is also paramount. 

“If you work a 40-hour-a-week day job, it would be tough to flip but not impossible,” he said. “And the average person should know that planning to do 60 percent of the work yourself is the key to success. It goes back to the old saying: ‘If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.’” 

The Malones flip about one to two houses a year, and some have sparked crazy stories, such as one on 80th Street in Birmingham. Originally listed for $95,000, the Malones offered $6,200 and got it. They sold it for $112,000. 

They’ve sold eight flipped homes, mainly in the Crestwood area, and they own three that are waiting their turn. 

Brent Malone’s favorite part is not actually the final product: It’s the challenge of finding their next flip and the hope of what it will become. 

“For me, I love knowing that someone is going to live there and make memories there,” Destini Malone said. “I know the blood, sweat and tears that he’s put into it. It makes me so proud of him.”