— The Woman Behind pinotnoirmom.com
The name comes from my cats, Pinot and Noir — named after my favorite wine. They run the household. I just pay the mortgage research.
I came to America in 2012 with a suitcase, a husband, and absolutely no idea what I was doing.
My husband was Korean-American — a real estate developer who had built a career in the American market that I could barely comprehend at the time. I had spent my whole life in Korea, in a world that felt small and manageable. His world was enormous. And instead of being inspired by it, I felt intimidated. I felt like I couldn’t keep up. That feeling turned into frustration, and frustration turned into distance.
So I ran. Literally.
While he worked, I traveled. Country after country, year after year. I told myself it was freedom. Looking back, it was escape. I thought his money was my money. I thought the life he built gave me the right to disappear into the world without building anything of my own.
He waited four years. Then he asked for a divorce.
It was mutual. It was civil. And it was probably the most honest thing either of us did in those four years together.
I kept traveling for a while after that. But eventually, something pulled me back to America. In 2020, I came back — this time with a plan. I would stay five years. Get my citizenship. And figure out who I actually was when I wasn’t running from something.
The First Flip
Somewhere in my subconscious, my ex-husband had left a mark. I remembered him on the phone with contractors. I remembered the way he talked about properties — what they were worth, what they could become, what the numbers looked like before and after. I had never paid attention. Now I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
In 2020, I did my first house flip in Los Angeles through a partnership — I provided capital, they handled operations. I put in $170,000. Thirteen months later, I walked away with $20,000 in profit. On paper, that sounds fine. In reality, it was a lesson in how much you can lose when you don’t understand your own deal.
I wasn’t cheated. I was simply uninformed. Every layer of middleman between me and my own investment had taken their cut, and I had no way to see it happening because I didn’t know the numbers.
I did two more flips in California after that. Each one taught me something the last one didn’t — about ARV, about rehab scopes, about what lenders actually look at, about the difference between a deal that looks good and a deal that actually is good.
Three flips. Real money. Real mistakes. That’s what this blog is built on.
Why Philadelphia
When I started looking east, Manhattan was already out of reach for most investors. But Philadelphia felt like something. It reminded me of what Brooklyn must have felt like twenty years ago. The bones were there. The energy was there. The prices still made sense.
I moved to Germantown in 2023. I walk these streets. I go to the sheriff sales. I pull the liens on Atlas and check the Tax Center before I look at a single photo. I’ve sat in rooms where properties sell for $8,000 and watched what happens next.
I think Philadelphia is going to be one of the best real estate markets in the country over the next decade. I moved here to find out — and to be part of it before everyone else figures it out.
What I’m Actually Doing Right Now
- Analyzing tax sale and sheriff sale properties in Philadelphia
- Studying for my Pennsylvania real estate license
- Building and testing every calculator on this site with real deal numbers
- Tracking the Philadelphia market neighborhood by neighborhood
Why This Blog
I built this blog because I wish it had existed when I was wiring $170,000 into a deal I didn’t fully understand.
I’m not a guru. I’m not a millionaire. I’m a woman who made expensive mistakes, learned from them slowly, and is now doing the work I should have done from the beginning. Everything on this site comes from actual research, actual deal analysis, and actual money on the line — mine.
If you’re a first-time buyer trying to figure out if you can afford Philadelphia, this is for you. If you’re thinking about your first flip and want to understand the numbers before you touch the money, this is for you. If you just want honest information from someone who has been burned and came back anyway — you’re in the right place.
Nothing on this site is financial or legal advice. I’m an investor sharing what I’ve learned. Always do your own due diligence.
Welcome.
— Celine