Live in, Repair, Hold, Sell

[Galen Heckathorn]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Forestville.

Purchase price: $705,000
Cash invested: $180,000
Sale price: $1,200,000

We bought this and moved in as our primary residence. It was very distressed, the roof leaked, 1 of the 2 bathrooms was in non functioning, and it came with 2 "tenants" living in trailers that we had to remove. It was a beautiful piece of land though on a private lane, with municipal utilities. We renovated the house over the next 18 months, doing 90% of the work ourselves. We vaulted the living room ceiling, added a covered porch, then replaced just about everything except the kitchen, New roof, floors, plumbing, bathrooms, 30% of the electrical system, paint inside and out, water heater, furnace, exterior doors, half the driveway. We also added a 1,000 sqft deck with 300sqft shaded pergola. Removed about 150 yards of trash and yard waste. Then we rented it out for a positive cash flow for 2 years as the market went up and then sold it.