I was going through a divorce and living in an apartment and my parents had sold their property and just came out of some personal issues so they were also in an apartment. We decided to buy a house that needed some TLC that was big enough for the 4 of us and also my nephew who was 19 and looking to be a 1/5th investor and needed a place to live. We found this gem and I knew it was the one.

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

The house was big enough and on a rare flat 1 acre in Tennessee with a mountain view from the swimming pool. The house had not been upkept over the years but didn't need any major repairs, it had work that needed to be done that we could all do.

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

I am a Realtor and found it on the MLS. Due to the disrepair we negotiated the price to $227,000 from $234,900

How did you finance this deal?

My parents had better credit and better tax returns plus my divorce was still pending so my dad was able to do a conventional loan and had the cash to put up the 20% down payment of which I paid him back half of after selling my house from the divorce.

How did you add value to the deal?

We found out the pool was encroaching over the property line that was on the survey, so the seller paid to resurvey the acre to include an extra .10 to the acreage because he owned the land behind it. We painted and laid all new flooring before moving in doing most of the work ourselves except carpeting. We resealed and painted the massive pool out back, built a new deck, did some landscaping, upgraded the kitchen counter tops and appliances, painted the cabinets etc.

What was the outcome?

We had a place to live for 2 years (we did a 2 year plan to avoid paying capital gains) I was able to get through my divorce and at the end of 2 years we listed at $395,000 and sold it for $400,000 with no contingencies.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned that investing is what I want to do besides being a Realtor. I am a hard worker and would prefer to get dirty fixing houses then show houses as an agent. I have learned in real estate to expect the unexpected. Besides being delayed to close due to the survey issue, shortly after we moved in the AC unit downstairs went out and we had to replace $5,000 out of pocket because we didn't purchase a home warranty plan!

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

We purchased the home from a young realtor named Zack Beeler at The Real Estate Firm who did an excellent job, and financed with Kyle Satterfield of CMG Mortgage who was always my go to go that I recommended to all of my clients.