I bought it in September of 2021 sight-unseen. I was at an Army training in Texas at the time and I had been monitoring small multi-family properties on the MLS daily since I knew I'd be moving to Alaska to be stationed at JBER. This property hit the market, and the next day we submitted an offer. I had an amazing agent who was my boots on the ground and I paid for a thorough inspection.

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

I loved that you can use a low down payment loan program like FHA to owner occupy up to 4-units right off the bat! It seemed like a great way to get started.

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

It was listed on the MLS, and we submitted an offer over asking price. The market was hot at the time and interest rates were low! 2.99%. I had MLS alerts from my agent set up for my buy box of 2-4 units in Anchorage. I didn't care what the price was as long as the cash flow made the deal work, and I could afford the down payment.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA Loan and my own cash as down payment and closing.

How did you add value to the deal?

The unit we moved into needed some updates, so we put new LVP and carpet throughout and updated the bathrooms. We also painted the entire unit. Total renovations on that unit were around $9,000 and we funded it off the cash flow of the other units.

There was also room for rent increases. It was rented at ~$1500 per unit, and I’ve brought it up to market rates of ~$1800. That’s an annual increase of $14,400 in gross rental income!

What was the outcome?

The units all look great! Not granite countertops or anything, but they’re in great shape and the tenants love where they live. I had 70+ inquiries on my last vacancy listing, and that was priced at $1800. I have one unit by the bedroom that’s even higher.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Alaska presents some unique challenges with the intense winters. Paying for annual boiler inspections and having professionals do the heating and plumbing work ensures I don’t mess something up and cause heating issues the winter. Besides maintenance on a 1972 building, I haven’t had too many challenges! Just normal landlord things.

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

I worked with Patricia O’Neil with Keller Williams, who’s based out of Wasilla, AK but helps buyers and sellers anywhere from Anchorage to the Valley.