Short sale investment on an oceanfront condo

[Paul Paquin]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment.

Purchase price: $376,000

Cash invested: $94,000

Sale price: $620

This was an oceanfront condo that I purchased as a short sale. I lived here for about ten years and sold it when the price was right. I regret selling it, I should have kept it and continued renting it out for $4K-$5K per month, but I was offered a really good price so decided to sell. 

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

The location being ocean-front and in a booming area (Imperial Beach California).

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

I found the deal through a local Imperial Beach real estate agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Bank loan

How did you add value to the deal?

I did not add much of anything to it, besides just letting it appreciate over the years.

What was the outcome?

I almost doubled my money. Purchased for 376K and sold for over 600K.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I should have kept it and rented the property out, continuing to collect rental income. I thought that at the time, home prices must be at a high and that they would drop soon, little did I know they would keep rising.

If I waited just one more year I could have sold this condo for $800K, as this is what the new owner sold it for a year later after purchasing it from me.

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

Nobody that I would recommend. The real estate agent I used went out of business.