Complete My First Rehab

[Bennie Williams]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in St. Louis.

Purchase price: $99,000
Cash invested: $145,000

Found a great deal on the MLS and was able to get it under contract. Took about 4 months to rehab and learned a ton. Can't wait for the next one!

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

This property my investment criteria. I typically use the 70% rule and this 2 bed/1bath was at a price my budget could handle so I decided to give it a shot.

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

I found this listing on Redfin and had my local realtor immediately set up a showing with my GC.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a hard money lender.

How did you add value to the deal?

I expanded the tiny bathroom and completely remodeled and updated the kitchen. Beyond that, all the plaster in the entire home was removed and drywall was installed.

What was the outcome?

I had it listed for sell but this particular area is appreciating so much I decided to hold and lease.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Wow, where do I start? The first lesson is always negotiate the purchase price as aggressively as possible (without being a total jerk). Another thing I learned is that rehabbing in the winter can be tough especially around the holidays. Between the weather and Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years I lost about 5-6 weeks of work. Also, with homes over 100 years old, everything needs to be updated or replaced...and I mean every single thing!