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Updated over 4 years ago,
1st property ever, bought at the bottom of the recession
Investment Info:
Single-family residence buy & hold investment.
Purchase price: $68,000
Cash invested: $8,800
3 bed, 2 bath 1100sqft
What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
I was returning from a back-to-back military deployment and had been researching budgets and properties while watching the market recession from the outside. The property was a foreclosure and I wanted to become an investor.
How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?
I had a friend take pictures and check out the properties for me while I was overseas, we would look over the deals together and decide if it would make a good deal. My friend walked me through the process to buy a home and acted as my eyes and ears, we offered the asking because the market was stabilizing and many housing were being sold for the same amount by large investors.
How did you finance this deal?
VA home loan and out of pocket for the rehab
How did you add value to the deal?
The house was 5 years old at the time of purchase: replaced all door (multiple had holes punched in), new appliances, installed a patio, and ceiling fans, laid new gravel, and security front door.
What was the outcome?
I lived in the house while rehabbing it and finishing up school in order to pay off the house, goal was to have the house as the safety net for future project. I rented it out 2 years later, one renter there for a year and the second renter has been there ever since.
Lessons learned? Challenges?
I used the house to learn how to do repair work and maintenance and how to care for a house, I traded with friends to learn basic plumbing, painting, electrical, and other up-keeping needs to happen. Budgeting for the house projects and financiing future projects were big lessons learned. I figured that if I needed somewhere to live then I might as well use it as a learning tool and project. Challenges were in finding out the things I didn't know I didn't know- still holds true.