This is an owner-occupy "House-Hack" Duplex with converted basement (making it three units) that we just moved into! First official REI purchase. Almost done with the rehab and will rent one side as a LTR and the basement as a STR. Hoping to do a mix of travel nurses and Air BnB for the STR. While we live in it, we will not be making cashflow after expenses, but our mortgage and a few utilities will be paid for by the tenants! BLESSINGS & Happy Investing!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Life! I was medically discharged from the military and had big decisions to make for my family and I. We have one SFH rental that was our primary home before moving but it was not purchased as an investment per-se. We thought about moving back to it (from Alaska to Texas) but decided to stay in Alaska. What we realized would work best for us in our REI journey and in our lives was a house-hack. Especially with this sudden life change.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS. Shopping on realtor.com every day and talking with our Realtor who is also an investor. We offered asking price with an escalation clause of $15,000 over in case of other competing offers but were blessed not have to use that clause and purchased at asking price.

How did you finance this deal?

VA home loan. 100% LTV. 3.25% (my rookie mistake of not shopping around caused me to lock-in a higher interest rate than I could've gotten but I am considering refinancing to up my cashflow. Lesson learned!) Appraisal came in $5K over so we have a little equity right off the bat.

How did you add value to the deal?

Minor cosmetic upgrades like lights, fixtures and flooring in a couple rooms.

What was the outcome?

About to market for rent.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Shop around for lenders and best rates and loan products! Also, never negotiate personal property. We negotiated some new really nice furniture that was already in the property, but it made things more complicated than they needed to be.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes. Agents I would recommend are Reginald Carney and Jessica Bartron from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Dream Makers in Wasilla, AK. Lender I would NOT recommend is American Mortgage Network. They dropped the ball so many times during our transaction and delayed closing a few times.