House Hack: Timber Trail Drive

[Kristin Fleming]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment.

Purchase price: $360,000
Cash invested: $50,000
Sale price: $599,000

I purchased this primary residence as an investment opportunity. My family and I lived in it for three years while I renovated the kitchen, painted every room, upgraded finishes, gutted and remodeled the master bathroom. This was my third house hack.

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

I had house hacked our previous primary residence and made a good profit on it. I was essentially finished with that project when I came across the listing for this one. This house had good bones and needed a lot of cosmetic work. It had been built in 1984 and the kitchen and master bath had not been updated. It also has four bedrooms and three full bathrooms. With three minor daughters at the time, this number of bedrooms and bathrooms was very appealing!

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

I received an email with local MLS listings. I happened to click on this one and got very excited. It had been on the market for quite a while and it was apparent that no one else wanted it. I made an offer about $40,000 less than the asking price. When the listing agent asked why we offered so low, my agent responded that they had it priced like it was fully updated and it was not. The sellers accepted my offer!

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional mortgage as it was about to be my new primary residence and I was still a W2 employee at that time.

How did you add value to the deal?

I put the gutters back on the house, removed all of the overgrown brush, added quarter round to the baseboards to cover the giant gaps left from previous owners removing the carpet, landscaped all of the property including planting four new trees and having a dead tree cut down, painted the kitchen cabinets and replaced all of the hardware, added quartz countertops, new sink, new faucet, new microwave vent hood, new dishwasher, painted bathroom cabinets, replaced all of the windows, etc.

What was the outcome?

I have improved the property value by $240,000 and the house is no longer the eyesore of the neighbrohood.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Always be prepared for the unexpected by keeping reserve funds.