Our fifth investment: the 2nd Elma house

[David Stone]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Elma.

Purchase price: $109,900
Cash invested: $15,000

Cute 4-bedroom bungalow on Main Street in Elma! This home was fully renovated inside and out. Enter to a cozy living and dining room, followed by a completely updated kitchen featuring stainless steel appliances. With a huge fenced yard and easy access to all Elma schools and shopping, this home has everything you need!

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

We initially bought this as a primary residence (a place we were based out of that would be cheap to live) but later life circumstances caused us to move to Denver, CO (for about a 6 month vacation).

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

We found the deal on the MLS. We initially put in for a full price offer of 130k and reduced it 20k after the inspection. The appraisal came back at ~ 150k.

How did you finance this deal?

We used conventional financing at 25% down and funded the deal after the sale of our house in Shelton (it funded the money down and the rehab).

How did you add value to the deal?

We completely renovated the kitchen, fixed some rot in the bathroom, fixed a roof leak, painted the inside, tore off the vinyl siding (exposing the original -and in good shape- shingle siding) and painted it.

What was the outcome?

We improved the looks of the place and now rent it for $1395 a month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Our roofer contractor installed the wrong roofing material and the roof ended up leaking the next year. The contractor refused to fix the problem and we hired another professional to fix the issue. All-in-all, we were out $3000 from a bad contractor.

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

We used Premier Realty Olympic Peninsula to purchase the deal.