100 y/o house converted to triplex converted back to a house!

[Rob Thompson]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Memphis.

Purchase price: $50,000
Cash invested: $190,000

I bought this 2,000 SF house, built in 1929, as a rental property a few years back. It had been converted to a crummy triplex at some point in the 1960s, with separate electrical and gas. After holding as a rental for a couple years, I decided to convert it back to single family, either to sell or keep as a short-term rental. Peeling back layers of the onion as we started renovation revealed quite a bit of structural problems, and it ended up being the most intensive remodel I've ever done.

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

I love fixing up ugly old houses and making them beautiful and something a family would love to live in. Sometimes, this makes me a glutton for punishment (like this deal), but it almost always ends up with a beautiful house at the end!

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

A realtor brought this to me as a rental triplex.

How did you finance this deal?

Originally I paid for it with bank financing as a rental property (on a 5/15). When we decided to renovate and convert it back to single family, I took out a construction loan and paid off the original loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

This is a total gut job, down to the studs, which allowed us to make the badly needed layout changes to convert this back to a single-family house, but updated for a 21st century family. We added beams to create an open floorplan living room and kitchen space, a master suite and added two bedrooms and a large utility room upstairs.

What was the outcome?

To be determined! We are still in the midst of renovation but trades start next week and budget looks good.