Left the nightmare of California - UTAH!

[Erik Mihlsten]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $360,000
Cash invested: $130,000 (including 40K for reno)

With all of the regulatory changes happening in California for multi-family properties and the high costs, we decided to expand our search to the supremely hot market that is SLC (a quick flight from LA). Found a charming 4 bd 2 bth SFR and placed an offer the day it was listed! That was definitely the key with this one given how crazy the market is in Utah.

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

Tax rates are low (especially if you have a long term tenant), properties are much more affordable, it just need a bit of cosmetic work, and it was in our price range.

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

Was referred to a great Realtor in SLC who has continuously send me properties. I then build a proforma for ones that I think look interesting. Utah is different from CA in that properties are not always on Zillow or Redfin, nor do listings get updated on those sites. So I would find a property I liked while scouring zillow, but on the realtor's MLS equivalent site, it would show it is either already sold or under contract.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional lending

How did you add value to the deal?

Found the deal, built the pro-forma, managed the process and paid for it

What was the outcome?

A cash flow positive property! We listed the property before we had even finished all of the reno and the market there is so hungry that within a week of listing the house we had a signed lease for more than we had expected to be able to get for rent (more than double the mortgage). So I'm pretty happy about that.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Honestly it was a super smooth project. Have a great GC in SLC that did the property on time and mostly within budget. I really like this market and will hopefully have another property soon there.