Student rental purchase in the Hudson Valley, NY

[Carl C.]

Since I see such detailed posts on deal I thought I'd share my first. My partner and I bought a 4 bedroom SFH in October 2013 for $145,000 with conventional financing, 25% down. It was a FSBO deal from the estate of the former owner. Unfortunately the former owner was the type who thought he could fix everything himself and it is clear that he really didn't know what he was doing. We put about $25k into rehab including a new roof, electrical work, plumbing work, retaining wall repairs, and gutting the second floor down to the studs to reframe some walls. I have a background in home repairs and contracting so I was able to do a lot of the work myself but bills still add up. That said, we had a good idea about what we were getting into.

We wanted to rent to students in the area so getting it rented took some time because we needed to align with the semesters. We rented the house for $2,500 per month and our monthly PITI is right around $1,400. For now we are paying everything out of pocket and setting aside all rent income for the next down payment. It's amazing how quickly that can add up but until I figure out some creative financing I need every penny I can get.

Owning the house has certainly been a learning experience and a lot of work. What is great is that I love it. This doesn't feel like work for me even when I'm trudging up there to snake a drain. Now I'm on the look out for deal number 2!