Flip, makeover, or keep? That's a question Blythe Graham-Jones now asks herself when looking at a potential property to purchase in the Hamptons, and the answer will probably make her millions.
A former advertising executive who parlayed her project management skills into real estate, Graham-Jones didn't start out planning to become a full-time real estate strategist. But when she and her husband bought a $635,000 home in 2017 in East Hampton (while actually living in a rental in Brooklyn), a new path toward independent wealth premiered along with the purchase. They just sold that home in February 2026 for $1.9 million.
"We bought a 'second home' first, and we started renting it out immediately that summer—renovating it with any of the short-term rental income that we made and investing that back into the property," says Graham-Jones. "Eventually we were able to get that property reappraised at a higher value."
A much higher value that allowed them to secure a $250,000 HELOC loan, which they turned into a major property renovation that included adding a bathroom and taking down one of the bedroom walls to transform the layout with a bigger living room and open kitchen. After another post-renovation appraisal, they refinanced the property and "cashed out."
"A cash-out basically means we refinanced and started paying a higher monthly mortgage, but we were able to cover that because of the higher rental income we could charge with the renovated property, and then the cash-out enabled us to buy a second home," explains Graham-Jones.
The second home they purchased was also in the Springs area of East Hampton.
"The next one we bought was post-COVID climb, but not peak, in the fall of 2020, at $895,000," says Graham-Jones. "With approximately $250,000 of equity-building renovation work, and two seasons of rentals, we sold in 2022 for $1.55 million."
Since then, their real estate portfolio has continued to grow, including a property they just closed on this week that they plan to rent out soon, a property they have in contract in Montauk that they hope to flip by summer's end, and one more they're holding on the Springs/Amagansett border that they bought for $1.4 million which is now valued around $2.3 million, after approximately $400,000 of work.
"We’re not ready to sell that one yet because we haven’t done all the work that it needs to be sale-ready, and it’s perfect as a rental," adds Graham-Jones.
But this process also allowed Graham-Jones to recognize she has an affinity for this type of work. In 2022, she left her advertising career to focus full time on purchasing and renovating—then renting out, holding, and flipping—Hamptons homes.
Why the Hamptons are a smart place to build a property portfolio
While Graham-Jones has done projects and helped rent out family homes on Airbnb in California, the Berkshires, and Westchester, NY, she definitely thinks the Hamptons deserve the hype.
"Nowhere is like the Hamptons in terms of the rental income you can make in such a short window. You can usually cover a home’s mortgage and other holding costs for an entire year by just renting [it out] for the 10 to 12 prime weeks of summer," says Graham-Jones.
In other markets, you see shifts throughout the seasons, but not anything as dramatic, she adds.
"The rates might vary 50% or so between peak and off-peak nights in the Berkshires, but in the Hamptons, it might vary by 200% or more."
Because the Hamptons tend to be a consistently hot market, the risk also tends to be lower for property holds.
"Even for flips, we love that fallback," says Graham-Jones. "If a house hasn’t sold or the market dips from a buying perspective, we know we can rent it [out] and cover costs and then relist it to sell later, if we want."
Now, after being involved in the home renovating/renting/flipping market for almost a decade, Graham-Jones is still hot on the Hamptons.
"At this point, it’s hard to consider renovating outside the Hamptons because of how deep my relationships are—I’ve been working with many of the same team for almost 10 years," says Graham-Jones.
"My contractor, electrician, landscaper, photographer were all involved in my very first project in 2017 and in every single one since. When things go wrong, as they inevitably do, the depth of those trusted relationships is critical."
What to look for in a house to rent or flip
How does Graham-Jones decide which homes make a good rental and which might be a perfect flip? She definitely has her criteria at this point, along with good instincts.
"For any home I’m considering buying with the intent to renovate, I’m looking for upsides that a regular buyer might not notice," says Graham-Jones.
For example, maybe the ceilings in a home are low, but it’s a ranch style, and she recognizes that lofting them isn’t that complicated.
Or maybe it’s already a six-bedroom from a construction perspective, but the owner never dealt with the headache of replacing the septic to legalize the domain as a rental. Or perhaps a home has terrible flow or a small, dark kitchen, but she can envision a new layout by moving walls around.
"A lot of buyers can see past an odd paint color choice or some bad bathroom tile, so I’m not necessarily going to have a competitive edge when that’s all that needs to be done. But a lot of buyers can’t envision the home’s potential when there’s more structural or complicated work that needs to happen," explains Graham-Jones.
When it comes to a flippable home, she looks for location and limitations.
"I have to really think like the primary buyer—what is the actual street, is it desirable, what’s the proximity to amenities like the beach or to town, and will they be able to see themselves there long term?" says Graham-Jones, who adds that she can't fix things like making train or traffic noise disappear.
For a home that may serve as a rental, she seeks ways to fill it to the brim.
"It’s all about heads in beds for a rental, so I’m always trying to look for properties where there’s an opportunity to do that, and/or add more bedrooms and bathrooms so it comfortably sleeps a max capacity."
How social media savvy makes her renovations even better
Leveraging her advertising background has helped Graham-Jones with her projects. Not only did her management skills translate perfectly into project managing a renovation, but her social media marketing experience has allowed her to pitch and negotiate with top brands for collaborations (meaning she can get better materials than her budget might otherwise allow).
"I do a lot of design research to discover hacks to achieve the aesthetic or build I want, without overspending," says Graham-Jones. "A big difference between an interior designer or architect who is hired to do projects for clients is that I’m spending my own dollars."
It's one of the reasons she started chronicling her renovation journeys on Instagram and YouTube.
"Many creators with bigger followings do this, but I make it more about the content/asset delivery I can provide a brand, especially when it’s for products that I’d be paying for anyway," she adds.
Anyone interested in learning some of her tricks and watching the completion of one of her latest projects can tune in to see the progress of her current baby: a six-bedroom, five-bathroom home that she's getting ready for the summer 2026 Hamptons rental season.
"I call it 'The Big House' as it's my biggest project ever," Graham-Jones says of the property they just closed on a couple of weeks ago. "I'm really prioritizing amenities and planning to make it the ultimate party house destination, with its 60-foot pool, and I'm adding a sauna and a full outdoor kitchen under a pergola."
In other words, if you haven't locked down your summer rental yet this year, you might want to watch this space!
