Primary Single Family Home

[Amit Chawla]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $571,000
Cash invested: $120,000
Sale price: $850,000

3 bed, 2 bath SFH located on 8000 sq ft. lot

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

Purchased as primary residence.

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

on MLS, my realtor at the time brought it to my attention.

How did you finance this deal?

I had a condo that I was in the process of selling in order to purchase this. My tenants in the condo became unresponsive as soon as I gave them notice. Sale of condo ended up being delayed so I had to borrow money from some family members in order to close on this. As soon as I got my condo sold, I repaid all money borrowed with interest. Combination of borrowed money (repaid) for downpayment and conventional financing.

How did you add value to the deal?

Renovated maybe 2 years after purchase. Then rented for 2 years

What was the outcome?

Ended up purchasing another primary residence and renting this out for 2-2.5 years. Sold the property to qualify for the cap gains exception, having lived in the property for 2 out of the past 5 years. Sold at the market peak...1 month sooner would have been preferred but still timing was almost perfect.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Be wary of renovation budgets, especially when you are living in the place. I ended up spending more than expected due to frustration and time constraints. Take the time to properly plan out what needs to be done and price accordingly.

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

My uncle is a real estate agent and ended up helping me sell the house for a reduced commission fee. The sellers wanted almost 25k in credits for certain "repairs" they deemed necessary, my uncle ended up getting them to take $1000 instead and close the deal.