Miserable Investment in Fontana

[Jeff Hudson]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Fontana.

Purchase price: $438,000
Cash invested: $125,000
Sale price: $459,500

SFR, Spanish style 4/3 on a corner lot. Built in 2004.

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

We had 2 other properties that we had inherited and wanted to start building our portfolio. At this point in our investing career, we didn't realize we could be part of anything other than SFR's, so we took the plunge!

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

We heard about a company that provided education and opportunities to invest. They negotiated the price on a group of homes and then wholesaled them out to their clients/students.

How did you finance this deal?

Through savings for the down and standard mortgage.

How did you add value to the deal?

It was a newer home (less than 3 years old), so we didn't really add anything to the property.

What was the outcome?

We were finally able to sell the property in 2018 after 11+ miserable years of trying to lose as little of our investment as possible!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Due diligence and luck! We purchased in this area based on the property price, the current market conditions and the knowledge that they were going to be building 3 large factories in the area to bring in people. Then, the great recession hit and all 3 of the factories pulled out. We were left with a house in the desert and nobody to rent it. We dealt with negative cash flow for many years, but were able to keep above water. We are finally able to sell it for more than we purchased it for.

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

I won't speak to the company that we purchased it through, as they are no longer in business (what does that tell you?!?!?). We were fortunate to get a great realtor to sell the property with the Charlton group.