I want to highlight the success story of a fellow house hacker Jeff White and I go way back with. Irina Barnett found a beautiful 3 bed/ 2 bath SFH in Aurora that she absolutely loved but the numbers did not pan out as a stabilized rental after she would move out. When we went to walk the property, we noticed a very large bedroom in the basement that could be turned into 2 rooms with minimal work. Doing this turned the 3 bed/ 2 bath into a 4 bed/ 2 bath which made a great house hack and an excellent rent by the room rental after she moves out of it and onto house hack #2. Excellent work Irina.

Investment Info:

Single Family Home in Aurora, CO. Initial layout 3 bed/ 2 bath. Goal was to live in one of the rooms and rent to medical professionals near the medical aurora campus. Turned the largest bedroom in the basement into 2 separate bedrooms with a shared bathroom. Having 2 egress windows in the basement made this update very easy.

Purchase Price:

$429,000

Cash Invested:

$20,617 ($11,278 Down payment + $9,339 for construction and renovation to add 1 bedroom and furniture).

What made me interested in investing in this type of deal and strategy?

The possibility of owning a property with a low cost entry especially in a market like Denver Metro Area. Also was a great opportunity to get my first real estate investment property under my belt.

How did we find the deal?

I found the property right off the MLS. There were multiple offers on the house. With Stacy Rozansky’s help, we were about to negotiate my offer being accepted. Also, was able to negotiate sellers paying for new water heater installed.

How did we finance the deal?

I had the opportunity to use the Bank of America First Time Buyers program that gifted me $10,000 for the down payment and $7,500 towards closing costs.

Did we add value?

I divided the lower level living space into 2 rooms doubling the rental income. Also, I installed additional cabinet storage in the kitchen since I was renting by the room. Also, updated the kitchen by painting the existing cabinets, removing the existing countertop and installing butcher's block countertop; in addition installing backsplash tile. Also, added insulation and drywall to the garage walls.

What was the outcome?

Successful house hacking experience as I rented the available rooms within 3 weeks of room posting.

Lessons learned?

Learned to screen tenants based on Jeff Whites screening standard procedures. This made the process easier and minimized potential errors with future tenants.

Challenges?

I was very afraid of posting my rooms for rent as I didn't know how to screen tenants. It wasn't until Jeff explained his system to me that it gave me the confidence to screen tenants to high standards.

Excellent job to everyone involved in the process and thank you for reading!

Denver, Colorado

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Denver Rent by the Room House Hack|3bd/ 2bth turned 4bd/ 2bth

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