New Owner of Two Duplexes in Colombus, Ohio

[Daniel Spaizman]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $108,000
Cash invested: $27,000

Duplex - Buy and Hold

Purchased with small group of investors

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

For the past several months, I have been targeting small multifamily with an emphasis on cash flow as a means of progressing towards financial independence.

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

This is one of two duplexes that were owned by the same seller. We noticed they had been on the market for several months, so we offered to buy them as a package.

How did you finance this deal?

Fannie/Freddie with 25% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

By buying the two properties as a package, we were able to get a better price on them. We were able to do this by having sufficient cash on hand to go after two properties at once, instead of one at a time. We plan to make certain upgrades over time to increase the value for tenants and allow for higher rents.

What was the outcome?

Time will tell if these properties cash flow as we estimate, but so far the negotiation and acquisition is complete and we are the owners of a couple of multi-units.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Buying a set of properties as a group of remote investors presented some challenges and ultimately, lessons learned. Good communication can combat some of these challenges. We learned to:
- treat each property as a separate deal, even though the seller was the same in this case (easier for our lender)
- take note of marriages and state ownership laws to ensure Power of Attorney is in place
- work with title company to schedule the delivery of paperwork to relevant places with notary service