Initial income property

[Tanya Ruddy]

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $105,000
Cash invested: $40,000

3 bed 2.5 bath condo that we purchased and renovated to live in part time to be closer to where my kids and husband go to school. My husband is a teacher and my kids are juniors. We rent it as a VRBO property all summer as well as during holidays and ski weekends.

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

Price was really good and there were limited properties available that we could afford in this area.

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

We found it online and offered 10,000 less than it was listed and settled on $105,000.

How did you finance this deal?

We put 20% down and financed the rest with a 15 year mortgage.

How did you add value to the deal?

We painted the entire condo and removed the popcorn ceilings from the entire condo. We changed our all of the light fixtures, added new hardware in the kitchen and put in quarts counter tops. We had someone resurface our bathroom shower and jetted tub so that it was white instead of pink! We replace the carpet in the bedrooms upstairs and replaced ceiling tiles, added lighting and a wall with a barn door to make a bedroom in the lower level walk out. We renovated the 1/2 bath.

What was the outcome?

It rents almost the entire summer for $250-$600 per night.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

HOA fees are high $440 per month and don't include any money set aside for large capital expenditures and so we are being charged additional special assessments of $1000- $3000 per year!