Condominium Starter Home

[Andrew Pettitt]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $237,000
Cash invested: $47,500

1 unit, 670 sq/ft, 1 bed, 1 bathroom. Built-in 2013.

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

My girlfriend was pushing to get our own place. She didn't care and just wanted our own space (rent or buy) - I didn't want to rent. I knew the value of real estate investments. She went and picked up keys to a rental on a Monday and had the approval to move in for Friday of the same week. This kicked me into gear. I found a home where my monthly costs were less than the price of renting so I pulled the trigger. She returned the keys to the rental on Thursday. Whew. This week was a whirlwind.

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

I saw the listing on MLS and called the realtor. A person had purchased this unit as an investment from out of town. No one had been living in it, it was a smaller unit and it was losing the investor money. The property had been listed for over a year so I offered a low price. We met on the lower end of my offer and closed the deal.

How did you finance this deal?

Personal cash. I covered the down payment (20% down) from savings. Roughly $190K is financed through a traditional mortgage.

What was the outcome?

I ended up house hacking about 6 months after moving into the property. I moved out and started house-sitting while renting out this property on short term leases. I eventually transitioned to Airbnb and rent the place out on a nightly basis.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This was my first home purchase. It was a lower-cost home (based on the geographical region) and was a great buy to get a taste of real estate processes.