Househacking turned into my most stable rental over 8 years in.

[Bill Dean]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $108,000
Cash invested: $8,000

Lived in half and rented the basement using the cash flow to survive at times and purchase more real estate!

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

Living as close to rent free as possible looked great but having the cash account grow year after year was the real eye opener. I leveraged my equity to purchase more rentals after that.

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

I looked for months and ended up talking with an elderly investor at a Home Show. He actually found me. From there I did a walkthrough, didn't haggle on price, and took the deal.

How did you finance this deal?

I used an FHA loan so I was able to get into the home for only 3.5% down plus closing costs.

How did you add value to the deal?

I immediately added showers and updated the bathrooms. Completely washed down all the walls and ceiling and painted. Most of the improvements were through the remodeling company I worked for already.

What was the outcome?

I still own the duplex today and it is my biggest cash flow producer.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lesson learned...househacking works. Living with tenants can suck, but the long term goal far outshines a random loud noise.

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

My lender was accepting almost anyone at that time so they snuck me into the house with only 18 months of commission checks. He is still the #1 first time home buyer lender in the state.