House Hack without seeing the inside!!

[Nathan Dehn]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $240,000
Cash invested: $5,000

My wife and I bought our 3rd duplex via house hacking. Able to put the minimum 3.5% down, received credits from the seller, and extended 1 tenant's lease for 5 years!
This one was crazy because we got under contract without any pictures and knew the upstairs tenant needed to be evicted. The pictures show how disgusting it was! But, allowed us to get a great deal and get more space for our growing family.
Mortgage payment of $1600/mo. Lower floor rent is $1000 with market rent of $1200.
We moved out of this rental in 2023 and rented the upstairs unit for $1275/mo.

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

We've invested in multiple house hacks and this one stuck out to us because it is located in a great area, but had no pictures and a troubled tenant. Making it a great investment to take on someone else's problem.

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

Found on the MLS and negotiated that the seller had to evict the non paying tenant. Since it was on the market a while we were able to negotiate the seller to pay closing costs.

How did you finance this deal?

We used an FHA loan in my wife's name to put minimum amount down.

How did you add value to the deal?

We renovated the unit we lived in with paint, light fixtures, new deck, refresh the kitchen and bathroom. total cost was $25k after all was said and done over 1 year.

What was the outcome?

Moved out 1 year after purchase. Spent $25k total on the home. Appreciated over $50k in value and currently renting at $1000 and $1275/mo with great tenants.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

biggest challange was getting my spouse on board. We get under contract with no pictures. And, saw the condition when we did inspections. And, we were expecting our first child 1mo after expected move in date. So, learned a lot about staying calm, planning ahead, and how to coordinate between multiple contractors.

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

Worked with me and all contractors/lenders I always work with :)