Lucked into a great property, have room to grow as a landlord

[Aleksander Shkaruba]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Fresno.

Purchase price: $45,000
Cash invested: $10,000

It's a 3 bedroom with 1.5 baths. Separate garage. Very good ROI, with about $50k in equity. Will raise rent by $100+ this year.

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

The buy in was very low, and equity grows well, in an area with many renters.

How did you finance this deal?

Seller-financed rent-to-own.

How did you add value to the deal?

Cash and acceptance of aftermath of squatters.

What was the outcome?

Paid off, refinanced, bought another property.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned that I need to be careful of putting money into important infrastructure rather than a fancy paint job. Found 4 gas leaks, and repairs were not cheap. A good relationship with the renter smoothed things over greatly. Add a clause about washer, dryer, and fridge next contract. They were supposed to be gifts, but turned out I had to replace fridge when it broke.

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

I have David Barr managing the property. He is dependable and knows what he is doing.