My First Deal - West Hartford CT Duplex

[Michael Fundaro]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $329,900
Cash invested: $50,000

"House hacked" a duplex in West Hartford, CT. FHA 3.5% down loan. Lived there from Jan 2016 to Jul 2023.

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

Buy and hold rental properties seemed like a no-brainer investment to me. Also, this specific property has attractive zoning that allows for the construction of additional dwellings in the future.

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

Traditional realtor

How did you finance this deal?

FHA first-time homebuyer program

How did you add value to the deal?

Didn't need any extensive remodeling, just replaced old things. Cleaned up the landscaping, fresh paint inside, new front door, new garage doors, replaced water heaters, replaced roof (insurance claim), installed french drain to keep water out of the basement, fixed minor electrical issues (The two units shared some circuits)

What was the outcome?

A nice place to live for 7 years with subsidized living expenses, a pleasant spike in equity thanks to the 2020 market rally which has materialized into a nice HELOC, and now a solid cash-flowing duplex in a desirable location.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Keep an eye out for anything fishy in the title search to do with the MDC water utility company. At closing it was "agreed" with them that the seller had been paying "estimated" water utility bills faithfully (which she was) and that we were good to close. After closing an MDC tech came out to make an update to our meter. About a year later we had a water bill for $4,000 and multiple letters about liens.

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

Horizon Home Loans in South Windsor was very helpful with the FHA process.