Beautiful southside home featuring an open floor plan with 4 bedrooms, (two master suites), 3 baths, kitchen has all new cabinets and granite countertops and all new appliances! This place is absolutely beautiful! This home has tile and carpet throughout with lots of natural lighting provided by skylights in the living room and bathroom. Don't forget about the pool and completely fenced in backyard and the RV garage tucked off to the side of this amazing home that has an added room set up as a games room with a poker table, arcade game etc! Beautifully decorated throughout just ready for your vacation dreams!

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

At 70 I'm not looking to make my fortune in real estate. Instead I'm looking to keep myself busy with interesting and fun projects and each new purchase is just that. This home was purchased more with the resale in mind than with the expectations of making great income through rentals. I will hold this home for about 5 years and use income to offset expenses, with some profit built in and then assess the market and ME. If it's time to sell, I expect to make my profit on the resale.

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

I had passed this one by twice before finally making an offer. We haggled a bit over roof repairs, but eventually they covered most of them. They also did most of the items that showed up on the home inspection report even though we didn't ask for that. They were pretty small items but nice to see them done.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash. No financing.

How did you add value to the deal?

Converted a bedroom and nearby bath into a second master suite. Changed a rather ugly room attached to the RV garage into a games room with new flooring, cabinets, arcade game, poker table, etc. (Vacation rental property.) Replaced cheap fencing with block wall and upgraded landscaping front and back adding additional patio areas and a gazebo to take advantage of nearby mountain views. Extending the driveway from the street back to the RV garage driveway providing additional parking.

What was the outcome?

It is renting very well! I mostly rent to snowbirds and to returning guests. I have had a few short term rentals, but although there's good money there, that's also where more potential property damage occurs so I'm keeping it more for the winter visitors and doing upgrades during the summer months.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

There are always challenges in this business. One easy renovation will always have complications. Best to have a good team behind you and I am getting a pretty good base team that responds as needed.

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

I'm working now with a fellow on a deal we're putting together for my next investment. He's been very patient as I am very picky. He also has vacation rental property so he understands my needs and has been working hard to find me the right properties. Hopefully this one will be the one! His name is Jon Groth.