Houston fix and rent

[Z Brown]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Lake Mary.

Purchase price: $225,000
Cash invested: $245,000

Older neighborhood with a ton of potential. I wanted a community pool to reduce my liability. It was very outdated but had no major renovation costs. I outsourced and had a really good realtor with amazing sources.We finished remodeling in 3 weeks.

Some of the before and after photos are below

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

I was in the process of building a bed and breakfast out of the country in St. Lucia. I had a very irresponsible business partner who lost his portion of the building proceeds on day trading. So we took the loss, sold the land, went our separate ways and after a long 2 years of solo searching for something in the U.S. I found this gem.

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

Patricia Perez in Houston Texas was my realtor. She’s an investor herself which helped a lot. The first day this house went on the market she rushed over to show me and I made an offer almost immediately. At this point I was being outbid like crazy for so long I offered to give them what they were asking. They were really solid people and told other interested buyers that I came first so they would go with me.

How did you finance this deal?

I paid cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

I remodeled the entire house. There was carpet almost everywhere including the bathrooms.
-new flooring throughout
-removing the wallpaper and floating the walls
-fresh paint throughout (cabinets and garage included)
-new appliances
-installing an electric stove
-new cabinet and lighting fixtures
-new shower, bathtub and sink fixtures

What was the outcome?

I was able to increase my monthly income rate of $1800 to $2300.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hire at least two different inspectors.
And the sidewalk became an issue. Insurance companies have become very nit-picky. I had to pay to have the sidewalk leveled.

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

Patricia Perez