I bought my first rental for $4,000.

[Kelsi Dockins]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $4,000

Cash invested: $17,000

Bought this baby for $4,000 on Hubzu.com in November 2018. Rehabbed from Washington State. Was done and rented by March 2019. Used cash so it is all paid off and now renting for $650 per month.

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

Honestly, I had been looking to buy a foreclosure in Washington State for 2 years and finally gave up. I went to Hubzu and sorted price from low to high. This property was one of the cheapest foreclosures in the nation. I bid and I won.

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

Hubzu.com, I was the only one who bid.

How did you finance this deal?

I used cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Fixed roof, re-ran electrical, new electrical panel, new flooring throughout (ceramic tile and laminate), new plumbing in bathroom and kitchen, everything in kitchen new, painted.

What was the outcome?

Rented at $650 in 4 months

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Every time a contractor was paid, they disappeared! I would definitely be more cautious about contractors and I never made a trip down to see the home, so next time will walk the house before buying. I got super lucky!
Mistakes I made: Laying ceramic tile instead of linoleum. Maybe should have done carpet instead of laminant. The house is 2,100 sq ft so even cheap flooring was pricy.
Positives: The jobs were itemized with the contractor and I only paid each line on completion. This worked out r

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

I represented myself and the other agent was pretty terrible on a $4,000 home.