My First Opportunity

[Christopher Whitson]

I have a family member that is a general contractor, owned a home for a couple decades, rehabbed it in 2015 (new kitchen; HV/AC; lighting throughout; finished basement-ready for finishing touches).  Now, the place is too big for his empty nest and he extended an offer for us to buyout his recent ex's 1/2 of the property-$300,000.  The value of the home (based on my research) is between $775/783,000; 4900 square feet, 3br/3ba garage, workshop, 9 acres in a quaint neighborhood 2-3 miles outside of a urban area.  Can easily add a 4th br/ba in the finished basement.  Rent for the size of this home is between $4200-$4500.

-I used the BRRRR calculator/rental calculator-thinking that we buy 1/2 the place; then rent it; refinance it together-utilize the equity to re-invest.

-Is this a strategy anybody has done before?

-Why do the calculators tell me that it isn't as good a deal as my chicken scratch? If we re-financed for 80% of the value (approximately $780k that would get a loan of 624,000; payoff our 1/2 of the property $300k-leaving $324k. Payout the other family member (if he wants-he's not looking for a bunch of cash that I'm aware of) with $300k.  $24k equity?

-What am I missing?