Profitable First Deal in Altoona, PA

[Eva Dees]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $3,000
Cash invested: $25,000
Sale price: $75,000

Purchased at judicial tax sale (my first time purchasing ANY RE). I then lived there for the next 18 months and slowly renovated it while also working 60 hours a week between 2 other jobs. I had gone to school for carpentry the year before so I was able to do a lot of the work myself which saved me tens of thousands of dollars.

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

I was able to pay cash at the tax sale for this property and then live in and fix up as I had the money over the next 18 months.

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

I found this house on a list of houses going up for sale at the judicial tax sale in Blair County, PA.

How did you finance this deal?

I paid cash for the house. My renovation money came from a combination of a PLOC, credit cards (no interest), and money I was making at my other jobs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Sweat Equity and waited to sell until the market was peaking

What was the outcome?

A $40,000 plus profit

Lessons learned? Challenges?

You can fit 8ft lumber inside a Honda Fit and be able to close the hatch if you lay the front passenger seat down and push the lumber onto the dash. Amish labor is cheaper, faster, and more accurate than non-Amish labor.