Portland House sold two years later in the recession

[Alexandria Gardner]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $255,000
Cash invested: $90,000
Sale price: $279,000

Put in a second bathroom in 1920 3 bed/1 bath home. Rerouted a hall doorway.

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

Getting a fixer and doing the upgrades ourselves. My partner is skilled in plumbing, electrical, dry wall, mechanical, so that helped immensely.

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

We found it just as it was about to be listed on the MLS, or actual, our friend who is a realtor found it for us. The mother had died and the kids had come through and taken what they wanted, so the house also came furnished and with TVS, blenders, etc. too. They wanted it off their backs and were going to list in on the MLS for $270,000 but because we were willing to buy it now, they would accept the lower $255,000 and it also came furnished, which helped us because we had moved without any.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional bank loan and large down payment.

How did you add value to the deal?

Added a second bathroom and rerouted a hall doorway which was a little funky.

What was the outcome?

Great--3/4 bathroom, helps to have two bathrooms, esp. since we rented the extra rooms too and had roommates some of the time, when I was away teaching in Asia mostly.