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Updated almost 5 years ago,

User Stats

10
Posts
6
Votes
Caitlin Brown Tuinstra
  • Hagerstown, MD
6
Votes |
10
Posts

First home purchase in Capitol Heights, MD at age 22

Caitlin Brown Tuinstra
  • Hagerstown, MD
Posted

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Capitol Heights.

Purchase price: $97,900
Cash invested: $30,000
Sale price: $212,000

This was my first property purchased with the goal of rehabbing using income from the day job. This was a live-in flip, as it took me 7 years, but 90% of the work was done by me by hand, with the more complicated repairs (electrical, plumbing, foundation repair) being contracted. Property located in my hometown of Capitol Heights, MD, just across the border to SE Washington, DC. Four days after listing the property a bidding war ensued which drove the price up 12K above my asking price of 200K.

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

As a kid I remember my mom buying her first house in her late thirties after many years of renting. Over the years I watched her install flooring, paint cabinets, and turn a porch into a four season addition. I was always amazed at what she could do, even if I didn't know anything about sweat equity. As a teen and young adult I would spend hours on end watching HGTV and DIY Network. At 18 my goal was to save enough to purchase my first home by age 21...which I missed by two months!

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

I have an amazing aunt who is a great Realtor. She showed me at least 15 homes before settling on this adorable cape cod in the neighborhood I grew up in. This was a traditional home purchase with conventional financing. And, because I was eligible for all types of first-time homebuyer deals I paid less than $800 down!! I also qualified for a 5K forgivable loan forgiven after living in the home for 5 consecutive years, which I did.

How did you add value to the deal?

Making around $14 per hour at the time of purchase my budget for renovations was clearly tight, but because I had so much time to work with and Youtube tutorials I was able to learn how to make quality upgrades to this tiny home on the super cheap. When I bought the house there was only subfloor. I installed new hardwood flooring, built all new cabinetry and kitchen seating from scratch, painted everything top to bottom, gutted and renovated the bathrooms, and the list goes on.

What was the outcome?

My all-in cost for renovations was nearly 30k. About 15k went to steel i-Beaming the entire basement due to a failing foundation wall. Another 5k went to new siding. The remaining 10k was spent on materials, tools, and smaller electrical and plumbing contractor work. My initial loan for the house was $123,900 at 5.25%. My asking price was 200k. Within four days I had several offers hiking my sale price to $212,000. At closing I netted over 80k, which I used as a downpayment on my current home.

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