Newbie - 1st Deal Complete!

[Christina Schaeffer]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $134,431
Cash invested: $45,871

1344 Square Feet, Brick, 3 Bedrooms, 1.5 Bath, Full Basement, 2 Car Garage

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

Helped the seller from losing her house to foreclosure.

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

My cousin owned this rental property and went through a divorce during Covid. The ex-husband had stopped making the payments so when it was finally transferred to her it was 9 months in arrears. We negotiated I would pay off the existing loan and the seller agreed to carry seller financing for the difference.

How did you finance this deal?

I took a 401K loan for the amount to payoff the existing loan plus estimated amount to cover repairs and the seller agreed to carry the balance under a note.

How did you add value to the deal?

Tore out all carpet which was the living room and master bedroom and replaced living room with vinal hardwood floor, Master bedroom hardwood under carpet match the rest of the house. Cleaned and treated all hardwood floors, patched all holes and painted entire house, replaced door in the basement leading to the garage, had pluming repaired in the bathroom and new shower head and fixtures installed, replaced porch railing, installed all new cordless blinds.

What was the outcome?

Achieved purchasing my first rental property and looking for my next.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Unfortunately, I had to go through a very long eviction process where the tenant fought the entire way which caused additional unexpected expenses and longer holding than expected. I learned the entire eviction process. In addition, I learned how to replace tile, install hardwood flooring, reset a fence pole, repair closet sliding doors and guides, replace porch railing.

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

I did have a realtor friend assist with the closing for a small fee.