North Idaho Riverfront Home on nearly 2 acres...

[Munro Murdock]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

We found this amazing home during a 4-day property search trip to North Idaho. As soon as we set foot on / in this property we fell in love with it. We could see the potential and the sellers had put a tremendous amount of work into the landscaping and everything. Close to two acres, right on the river and the most incredible variety of plants, flowers and trees that we had seen at any of the properties we looked at. It's an incredible piece of property!

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

Prime location in town, acreage, large home, private river access/boat ramp, mature landscaping, water rights for use of river pump for landscape irrigation, potential for property improvements and other property use.

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

Looking at properties with out agent. We put together a solid offer package and due to other buyer interest in the property we came in with really clean offer docs. We made it clear that we were qualified and serious about getting it done asap.

How did you finance this deal?

Some cash down and a bank loan for the difference.

How did you add value to the deal?

As a licensed real estate broker I was able to help make the process a little smoother both for our agent and also for the sellers. Also, we were very responsive in getting docs back to our agent and lender so that we didn't slow anything down. There was another buyer coming into town in the next couple of days for a second look so we jumped on it and got our offer submitted within the next 24-48 hours.

What was the outcome?

A smooth transaction and what we feel like was a good price for us.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

When you know the opportunity / deal is good, make it happen as quickly as you can. Also, have all the ducks in a row before looking at property, so that if you find one worth making an offer on, you are well positioned to do so. Don't waste anyone's time (including your own). Only go out looking at properties if you are ready and serious about taking something down.

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

Yes. We worked with a local agent and the seller was represented by a different local agent. I'm a licensed broker as well so it worked out well and made for a very smooth transaction with many real estate industry professionals involved in the deal.

[Munro Murdock]

Quote from @Nate Sanow:

Wow what a beautiful and serene spot. What are the numbers like on rents? Just curious. 

Thanks @Nate Sanow. We were able to cashflow it nicely while it was used as a vacation rental. Local RE prices have gone up a LOT though since we bought it  we were running about $350-$550/nt and had pretty good occupancy (70-80%). We had a family rent for 3 months at a flat rate that was still cash flowing nicely  our biggest month was July 2021 at well over $10k in gross rents.

Since it is a big house and right on the river we were able to accommodate some bigger groups.

Our main goal was to be cashflow positive and we were. Averaged about $1500-$2000/month cashflow and we were self managing it. If we had a management team they would have kept 25-35% of gross rents.