Swan dive into an empty pool

[Andrew Cornstubble]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Sedan.

Purchase price: $21,000
Cash invested: $1

Bought as a personal residence while trying to get back on my feet. Literally and figuratively. I was badly injured at work and living on my mother-in-law's couch. Purchased with owner financing at 0% interest rate. Currently looking to sell it.

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

After a year being injured and basically on bedrest I figured my mother-in-law would like me out of her living room.

It was owner financed and my credit was bad before I was injured and penniless for a year.

It had a new roof which happened to be the 1 thing I refuse to repair by myself.

The payments were $350 per month for 5 years.

It's a single family home that was a duplex prior.

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

I'm not entirely sure who my wife heard about it from. It was a customer at her last job that mentioned it.

I negotiated it when my wife called me. I was injured with a shattered heel and ankle and at month 13 on my mother-in-law's couch. My wife called on her lunch break and said we should look at it. I asked her if the roof leaked. She said it was new and that we should really go and look at it for a personal residence. I told her there was no need from me. I'll take it.

How did you finance this deal?

Owner financing (rent to own)

How did you add value to the deal?

We hauled roughly 30 pickup loads of trash off of the property. All of the rooms were painted after being cleaned. Gutted a falling apart bathroom and it became a walk in closet. Put a new floor in the kitchen. Spent several thousand on on rennovating and reclaiming the property from the falling down trees and misquito habitat. Saved the new master bedroom addition falling off of the side of the house.

What was the outcome?

The outcome was single family home that should either sell for approximately $40,000 or we may finance to the right person.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Basically I learned that bringing a fixer upper to a desirable home is a lot of work. I learned that purchasing a home ready for the bulldozer and resurrecting it while living in it is less than desirable.

My handyman skills did improve though. And while it still needs a lot of work it served its purpose. We purchased a home when we couldn't qualify to get a loan for a pack of gum. And now we are getting rid of it to say goodbye to that struggle and on to the next.

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

No but I have had such a fantastic relationship with the previous owner that we are considering the purchase of a 3rd single family home and more in the future possibly. We have recomended each other to people for different things.

[Mike S.]

@Andrew Cornstubble Congrats on what was undoubtedly an incredible learning experience and the start of the journey to which you're now deeply committed. After reading this, it was great to read your bio and learn more about your backstory and investments. Given your vision and drive, I can't help but imagine the future looks especially bright.