Purchased property turns into a gem of income potential

[L Lee]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $43,000
Cash invested: $15,000

2 buildings on one property. 2nd building is a 2 bed/1 bath apartment (2). One building is a large house but is zoned commercial (it used to be a church), and the other is zoned residential.

The back of the property has enough cleared land to build approximately 3-4 townhouses or an apartment building. That is the long-term goal.

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

The rental and future growth potential.

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

My son's realtor offered it.

How did you finance this deal?

I paid cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

The main house (used to be a church & zoned commercial) is being turned into a barber/beauty salon/nail studio with individual chair rentals.

What was the outcome?

Still in the process of rehabbing and setting up the shop on the commercial side.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Biggest lessons learned is that Georgia allows reroofing over old shingles. There were about 7 layers of shingles that had to be removed and new roof put on both buildings. It cost more in shingle removal.
Also, one building is zoned commercial and the other is zoned residential. The county will not allow the separation of the properties to different addresses because the buildings are too close to each other.

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

I worked with an agent for the contract and a title company for closing.