Downsizing home but upgrading portfolio

[Christina Tsutsui-Tharp]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $424,500
Cash invested: $20,640

I purchased a small detached duplex that I plan on moving into one and keep the other as a rental. Then my current primary home will be rented out to balance the cash flow of this purchase for the next year or so.
It started as an FHA loan but had to switch to conventional.

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

Life changes made it necessary to find a new living arrangement and if I'm going to move then why not buy and utilize financing for owner occupied multiplex?

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

I used the local MLS and I am a REALTOR so I negotiated off my commission to get a better deal. I also negotiated based on the home inspection findings.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional 5% down

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The challenge of negotiating against a seller who purchased at the wrong time, invested with the wrong contractor and was losing money on the sale. They were not in a position to budge as much as I had liked. But I have enough resources to still make this deal worth it for me and my portfolio.

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

Jeremy Hicks at Guild Mortgage in Central Oregon