Working on a BRRR in Roanoke, Virginia

[Christopher Brian]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $29,000
Cash invested: $14,000

Hi everyone, here's a little info on a nice, brick SFR that I picked up. It had been used as an illegal boarding house. Prior owner/tenants had taken out support structures inside the home that cause minor foundation issues. We have updated plumbing, electric, and corrected foundation/settling issues. Images from before. Feel free to reach out with any questions - I'm an open book.

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

I'm always looking for older homes with a little bit of character that can be brought back from the edge of destruction. This place had good bones, or so I thought, until we really dug into some foundation issues. I love the location being within a block of the Hotel Roanoke.

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

Off market, Chris Martin at Remax All Starts brought it to me.

How did you add value to the deal?

Complete rehab - managing contractors, working with the city. This one had been on the city's bad list for years.

What was the outcome?

Well, we're 99% done with the reno and working on a final punch list from the city inspector. Initial, unofficial, post-reno appraisal came in at 67k so we're right in the money on a BRRR.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Get more than one foundation expert out to the property, move everything out of the way when looking through the basement. Look for bad wood near where old sewer pipes were run (of course we knew this but-DOUBLE CHECK!!). ### Have a backup electrician on standby.

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

Chris Martin has been great to help find distressed properties. https://www.remax.com/real-estate-agents/daleville-va-24083-chrismartin-id31070406.html

I also really like Lemus Hardwood Floors. Great work on restoring the floors guys!

[Christopher Brian]

@Taylor L. Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it so far. I'm still learning the ropes, really, and have treated this like a year's worth of college. That's about what it's costing at least!  I've kept the rehab costs down by using local contractors who usually work for bigger construction crews but wanted to pick up extra work. We didn't take it down to the studs so that saved some time and money plus the majority of the plumbing and electrical were accessible through the basement/attic and that made it easier to swap. 

I think the level of investing in Roanoke is increasing right now. According to census numbers, the city is growing. We've had some good job announcements over the past few years. We've also lost a few, older, major employers (Post Office/Norfolk Southern). But, I'm betting on the growing medical economy. Virginia Tech is investing over $500 million in the medical school and hospital along with Carilion. The city is also really trying to enforce code standards as much as possible to make it harder for negligent landlords to let properties sit and fall apart. It's shameful what some absentee owners have done to sections on NW/SE Roanoke and I'm actively trying to buy several SFR's off of local landlords who have neglected to do any maintenance for at least 10 years. So, for me, this is a long term play. I'm thinking Roanoke today feels like Asheville, NC circa 1988.

If there are any other Roanoke area investors out there - hit me up. If you're an absentee landlord and want to get out of a property that's been sitting for a while, happy to talk.