SFH Primary Live In Reno Overview

[Heather Roller]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Ardmore.

Purchase price: $290,000
Cash invested: $200,000
Sale price: $500,000

Live in flip (seven years) with down payment of 15k (starting cash). Cash amount invested includes mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, renovations, realtor commission.

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

Needed to buy a house, initially intended to rent out rooms to friends but after having a roommate from hell I decided I didn't want someone destroying my home/investment. Was looking for a house in livable condition that I could make renovations on slowly over time.

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

Originally asked the realtor to show me a condo property but was thankful she showed me three SFH instead. This was the third property I looked at and the seller just dropped the price 20k to 300k asking so there was a lot of interest. The seller received multiple full price and above-asking offers but my realtor advised I offer 10k lower than asking and take the house as-is. My dad (a general contractor) did a walk through inspection so we knew what we were getting into (nothing major).

How did you finance this deal?

30 year fixed at 4.5% with 5% down due to first time home buyer promo

How did you add value to the deal?

Power washed and painted exterior, removed trees, new windows, painted front door, updated garage door and back door, added door entry from garage into house, new paint throughout the house, renovated 2 bathrooms (one of these bathrooms was a 1/2 bath that we converted into a full bath by combining the adjoining closet and rerouting the plumbing), added a kitchenette/kitchen in the basement.

What was the outcome?

Positive, am planning to do this again with my next primary home.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

1) At one point I was planning on living in the basement suite and renting the upstairs but my heart wasn't fully in it (felt like the house was too nice to rent) and never ended up taking this route. Did a lot of possibly unnecessary work in the basement because of this and ended up taking out a lot of upgraded items prior to moving (keypad entry, installed heater, garbage disposal, etc)
2) free or discounted labor doesn't work on your time frame.
3) go into everything with an exit strategy.

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

Walt Marchowsky of 20/20 Realty was great, would recommend. https://2020realestate.net/