Town home investment

[Alexander Murillo]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $180,000

In the process of purchasing a beautiful town home in Cedar City. 3 bed 2.5 baths along with a two car garage. It came fully furnished, and at great flexibility by a very understanding seller. No HOA fees, big and private backyard, quiet neighborhood, and within 5 minutes of the University and all major shopping centers in town.

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

Both my wife and and are going to school, but graduate very soon and plan on starting a nice little oasis for college students looking for a nicer place than most apartments available near campus. We will be renting out a couple rooms to close friends who were eager to secure their spots. Once we move out we'll be able to rent it full time and fill the rooms, pay the monthly fees, and hopefully make a little more.

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

The week we started discussing our financial goals, my wife's coworker approached her with the deal. He owned the property, and had success renting and using AirBnB. They decided to sell in order to downsize their workload managing properties and had it listed at $220,000. He lowered it to about $200,000 just for our relationship with him, and we threw $175,000 at him. He accepted, but tacked on another $5000 to leave the property fully furnished for us.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Being a first-time home buyer is intimidating, especially when you're so young and relatively poor. Time spent listening and talking with people who understood both the risk AND reward put an ease to our spirits when doubts and fear came in.