Our fist investment was a house hack

[Blaze Crook]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $180,000

My wife and I purchased this property as our first residence when we began to look at buying. This was def a house hack. We purchase it with my VA loan and actually made money when we moved in with $0 down. It was best decision we have ever made. Even after moving out it brought in enough money each month to supplement our next house payment.

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

Instead of paying a large mortgage we moved in to only have a $400 a month payment. We had been looking at houses it was 2012 and the market was starting to creep back up. We looked at a house we loved that was a new build but the builder wasn't willing to come down at all on the price. It was a moment that kinda got us down and our apartment complex was wanting to up our rent by $400 on the renewal of the lease.

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

I saw this deal on zillow and asked my wife what she thought about being a landlord. After explaining what it would look like and how we would benefits she was on board as long as we could find a nice enough duplex. It was just our moment i guess because it was listed and only a mile from us. We called up the agent we were working with and went to see it and put in an offer right away.

How did you finance this deal?

This was my first VA loan. It was ZERO down and we got a check from the renters along when we moved it for the next two months before our first mortgage payment was due.

What was the outcome?

We still own this property and we were able to refinance it out of the VA loan to an investment loan.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

location, location, location! This place is in a prime spot for renters and brings in great cash each month.