First home with basement rental

[Mark Van Wagenen]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Sandy.

Purchase price: $265,000
Cash invested: $35,000

Charming English Tudor rambler in a quiet neighborhood, with a great fenced yard, mother-in-law basement apartment and oversize 2 car garage. Tankless water heater (2016), central air system (2017), Furnace (2018), New windows installed (2018). Upstairs features 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms upstairs, along with kitchen, living room, and laundry. The master bath was recently remodeled (2017) with new paint, tile, vanity, and frame-less glass shower. Basement features a large living room, 1 bedroom with a walkout to back yard, with an additional bedroom that is technically an "office" due to the lack of windows. There is also a full kitchen, as well as as a utility room with additional laundry hookups. We recently remodeled the basement with new carpet, wood flooring for kitchen and dining area, and paint. Great location! Close to schools, shopping, public transportation, city parks, I-15, and the canyons.

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

We knew that we wanted to buy a home, but we also wanted to be smart about it. We decided to buy in a nice area with a mother-in-law so we could rent it out.

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

Through a realtor

How did you finance this deal?

Bank Loan

How did you add value to the deal?

We spent a little bit of cash to make some changes in the basement to make it good to go for renters. Unfortunately/Fortunately, there was an irrigation issue in 2017 which flooded the basement. Our insurance covered it, and we were able to do a lot of repairs and upgrades.

What was the outcome?

We moved about a year ago, and have been renting the entire home since then.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We bought at a great time in the market. The value has since gone up substantially. I don't know that we would buy this home now for what it is worth, but at the time it was a great opportunity.

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

Yes. We worked with an agent and a great lender (Close Your Mortgage - Draper, UT - Dusty)