My First Real Estate Investment

[Kevin DeBoer]

Investment Info:

Mobile home fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $83,900
Cash invested: $3,500
Sale price: $135,000

This was my first home and was an investment from the very beginning. I rented out 2 of the 4 rooms which allowed me to bring in more than the cost of the mortgage. I was hesitant to invest very much money into a mobile home, but I renovated a very dark kitchen to brighten things up, replaced some flooring and worked on improving the curb appeal. I've always felt that someone should want to buy a house before they even step foot into it.

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

I'm always looking to alleviate risk. I realized I could rent out spare bedrooms to pay my mortgage and live in this home for a while for free, while guaranteeing that I would turn a profit when it was time to sell. It made a lot more sense to me to buy something at the bottom of the market than try to find something mid range where payments may have been tough to make while working to turn it over.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional financing

How did you add value to the deal?

I'm sure with this property a lot of the value was added due to population growth and the market. I added a kitchen island that provided substantial working space in the kitchen. I also painted a lot of very dark walls and replaced light fixtures to brighten the interior up. I replaced the front deck and landscaped the front of the house with more appealing palmettos and hydrangeas to increase the curb appeal.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned a lot from this house, but most of it from watching the value of the house since I sold it. I've learned how much gentrification can add value to a home without actually changing the home. I also learned that spending the money to do something permanent rather than finding short-term solutions is going to payback better in the long run.

I realized electrical and plumbing fittings/sizes in mobile homes are unique so had to work through the challenge of finding the right materials.