This was an MLS duplex deal that the stars aligned and we were able to purchase this past fall. Both sides were tenant occupied by long term tenants and the properties were separately owned and managed.
Each side was listed as a 2/2/1 but when we walked the property we found a "surprise" third bedroom on one side of the property. So the property was a 3/2/1 and a 2/2/1. It was in great shape and fully "turn-key."

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

I had buying a duplex on my vision board for the past year. Originally we had wanted to house hack, but decided to stick with our current living situation instead.
My husband and I have been interested in working on a "creative finance" deal so that we could still grow our portfolio without utilizing traditional bank financing.

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

This was an MLS listing that was listed as 2 separate half duplexes. One side had about 70 days on market and the other one was a new listing when I found it. We made offers to the listing agents of both properties and after a little back and forth we were able to come to an agreement.

How did you finance this deal?

One owner was only interested in owner finance and the other was only interested in cash or conventional finance. We presented 3 offers to the owner finance side and he chose the one that he liked the best. We were able to lock in owner finance terms on one side for 10% down, 5% fixed rate interest on a 25 year note and we were able to finance using private money on the same terms for the other side.

How did you add value to the deal?

As of right now, we have not added any additional value. However, we could raise rent on each side by about $50/month in the current condition. With some cosmetic updates we could get closer to a $75/month increase per side.

The two existing tenants are great, long term tenants. So we plan to just do a minimal increases and lock in a long term lease.

What was the outcome?

So far it's been great. We were able to get a cash flowing multifamily property with low maintenance tenants. No bank financing and so far we have not had any major complications.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Transitioning the tenants over to our system has been the most difficult part. We were able to get one tenant transitioned to online rent payment after a fiasco of trying to track down mailed checks. But the other tenant doesn't use technology so she is dropping checks off at our office for now.

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

I was my own agent for the purchase, so that was super helpful. :)
I highly recommend Amie Witt at Oklahoma City Abstract for any title work. She did all of our owner finance docs for us and helped get everything coordinated smoothly.