Third Property and First House

[James Toland]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $529,000
Cash invested: $80,000

Found an 8-bedroom 3 bath house in Aurora Highlands that offered a VA assumption with an interest rate of 3.25 percent! Was stoked to find a deal like this and it was only 5 minutes from our current condo and in a nice residential neighborhood with a beautiful park and some nice restaurants all within a mile. the basement floor has 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a space for a small living room. The main floor has the master bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room, and a small living room. The top floor has 4 bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, a full library room, and two office rooms off of the library. My mortgage is only slightly higher than the condo while being triple the size, not including the two-car garage, with a large backyard and front yard. The house was built in 1978 so it is a bit older and not updated but as David Greene will say, in today's market you don't find the deal you make the deal. My plan is to redo the basement to being its fully autonomous unit. It already has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom so the base template is there. There is space for a nice-sized kitchenette which will include a fridge, an electric stovetop with an external vent above, two countertop sections, a nice-sized sink, cabinets, and a pantry underneath the stairs. going to then add a small separate room for the water heater and stackable laundry unit. I am working with my contractor to get it completed between January-February of next year and once done I will be able to rent it out for around 2000-2300$ which would cover a large chunk of the mortgage. The house was in pretty poor shape aesthetically when we got it as the previous owners did not seem to have any care for where they lived but I love this house already and my girlfriend and I are pouring a lot of time and love into this place to make into a beautiful home. If anyone is in the Denver area and would ever want to meet up to discuss property, rehabs, etc please let me know Id love to make it happen! Cheers to the BP community.

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

Initially, I wanted to use the rest of my VA entitlement for another property and then saw the 3.25% interest rate and the amount of house so I knew I could create a strong deal if I put in the time, money, and work.

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

I found it on Zillow as an assumable VA loan. We negotiated the purchase price from 550k down to 529k.

How did you finance this deal?

I financed this deal through my own personal money, liquidating both my stocks and mutual fund to help purchase it. I understand real estate a lot more than other passive income streams and was looking to pull out for a while and throw into another property.

How did you add value to the deal?

I plan on converting the basement into an autonomous apartment. It already has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom and just needs a kitchen to be complete. Since there are two washer/dryer units down there I will create a room for one of them against the bathroom to save on plumbing and electrical costs using a stackable washer and dryer. I will then get another stackable washer/dryer unit and create a room on the main floor, replacing a small storage closet next to the main floor bathroom.

What was the outcome?

Still in work but I will be posting periodical updates!

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

Megan Malone-Horn is great and I would highly recommend her to other investors!