A Heart for Agriculture

[Kacie B.]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $215,000
Cash invested: $7,000

19th century 6.02 acre gentlemen's farm, 1880 sq foot farmhouse completely renovated between 2016-2018, beautiful stone barn with 4 horse stalls and outbuildings kept in working condition. Move-in ready, bring the horses and cattle!

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

This was the first property we have ever purchased. We have a heart for agriculture and large animals (horses, cattle) so we knew that we wanted some acreage. We bought this property to "flip" while we lived in a camper parked outside, and then gradually moved into the home (my husband and I maintained full-time jobs while we did this). It turned into a total gut job but my husband is a journeyman carpenter so we did it ourselves, contracting out what we could not do ourselves.

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

We found this deal through our local realtor, it had been sitting on the market for 1 year. Noone wanted to touch it with a 10-foot pole since it needed so much TLC.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan, 3.5% down, and sellers pay closing costs (~$14,000)

How did you add value to the deal?

We did some minor renovations in order to meet loan officer approval (i.e. fixed a window, installed carpet, etc)

What was the outcome?

We now have $100,000 in equity to begin buying more properties

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Fixer uppers take a lot of capital , time, and know-how

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

Real estate agents, Mortgage Brokers, Title Company, Banks