Single Family Condo in Mercer County, NJ

[Amit Shah]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Willingboro.

Purchase price: $57,850
Cash invested: $85,000

It's a Single Family Condo in a Community with Swimming pool , club house and other facilities.

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

This is my first property and i bought from Auction.com while i was in India. The price was too low and i was trying to buy some units for Rental so I bought this even without looking at the property from inside. It was a more of a Gamble for me.

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

When i started looking to invest ( after my partner cheated me on my passive investments in Hotels and Office Buildings ), i decided to go on my own.

So this was around $57k, 3 bedroom, 2.5 Bath condo with $75 monthly condo fees.

The Live Auction was going to close in 10 minutes and i jumped into it via internet from my hotel in India. I just added $250 to last bid and wow - i got the property!!!

How did you finance this deal?

In Auction.com, u have to buy on Cash. so i bought it with cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

I have had my handyman complete the renovations which was not that bad. about $25k and entire house is brand new from inside.

What was the outcome?

I was able to buy the property and fix it and rent it.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

So the first Tenant i got is from Craigslist advertisement and he gave me post dated checks for security deposit and first month rent and both bounced back. and i was not able to make money for 6 months since he filed 2 bankruptcies to avoid evictions.

A big lesson learned is not to give rental units without all screenings.

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

No. At that point of time, i was thinking to become a real estate agent myself and since it was online, there was no need to involve any real estate agents.