This home was purchased with a no money down program in Colorado so our initial out of pocket expense for the investment was zero! Well not free but minus expected expenses like appraisals and inspections but this home was our primary for one year then we moved back to Texas while keeping it as a cash flowing rental property.

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

This home was purchased after selling our home we renovated in San Antonio, TX. We bought this because we took a trip one time to Colorado Springs and fell in love. The mountains were amazing, and we wanted to make it our new home. So, we took a gamble and sold our home we forced sweat equity into and took our equity and ran west to start over again.

The first home was purchased with a no money do program and found another one in Colorado when we applied for a mortgage there.

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

I found this using a realtor and the MLS. We got the home under contract and did not ask for any repairs. This home was built in 1907 but I was still able to obtain a home warranty to help offset any new repair costs. Colorado Springs was a very competitive market back in 2016 so we really did not have much negotiating room.

How did you finance this deal?

I used an FHA loan as this was our primary home. I ended up having plenty of reserves since we did not have to spend any of our previously earned profit from the home we sold in Texas. I worked for a Subaru dealer in Texas and transferred up to a dealer in Colorado. We ended up working out a buyer's lease for a month because the mortgage company required one month's pay from that dealer to establish employment as I was commission based in the service department.

How did you add value to the deal?

The home was in livable condition in a very popular area of downtown Colorado Springs. The first thing we started with was an exterior paint job. We then sanded the original hard wood floors and installed all new laminate flooring the basement. I also installed Radon mitigation system and a sump pump closet.

What was the outcome?

The home was not easy to live in. The home was built in 1907 and did not function well for our growing family. So back to Texas we came but this time we brought a 5-day old baby back with us to Texas.
We then turned it over to a property management company and we cash flowed 600 a month which came in handy seeing this place always needed something. The basement flooded twice due to rainwater. We spent 10,000 in flooring, restoration and building a retaining wall.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Sometimes flood insurance makes sense, even in the mountains. This property appreciated quickly due to the location and the growth in the area. We picked the right area and the right school district to help accelerate the appreciation.