House hack - all in below housing allowance

[Ian Murray]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Carlisle.

Purchase price: $350,000

Bought this as a house hack using a VA loan. We will live in it for two years while stationed here and then rent it out to students afterwards. Will cash flow at least $500 based on the current rental market.

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

Quality housing for students and faculty at the Army War College is very limited. I wanted a SFH or multi-family that cost, all-in, significantly under my housing allowance.

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

MLS with a realtor. The house sat on the market for over 180 days because the seller priced it too high. We were able to offer significantly less than asking and have the owner cover the cost of any repairs from the inspection.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

We added air conditioning to the house, something that most houses on the street have begun adding, and landscaped. We may extend the third bedroom to make a master en suite.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Old houses have old house problems. We have found some small issues that we have repaired, and we may need to replace a few windows.

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

Yes, Heather Lightly was our agent and Kevin Russell from Mortgage Link was our lender. I would recommend them both.