First Investment is a 2-family HOUSE HACK!

[Jack Luzecky]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $205,000
Cash invested: $41,000

Purchased my first duplex to "house-hack"! Currently living for free while making subtle updates to maximize cash flow upon vacating. I live on the 2nd floor with a roommate, rent out the 1st floor to a young couple, and rent out the garage to a mechanic. I couldn't be any more happy with my decision to house hack. Onward and upward!

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

After reading Set For Life by Scott Trench, I realized I had an opportunity to eliminate 30-40% of the average housing expense per American. YES PLEASE!

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

I wrote a letter to the owner and called them after a week of no response.

How did you finance this deal?

I went conventional, Freddie Mac, 20% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

I bought the property at a ~10-15% discount, DIY Renovate Kitchen, and increase rents upon vacating my owner-occupied unit. Its a generic 2-family for the area and in overall good shape for the age. A pretty straight forward deal.

What was the outcome?

I am still in the process of the live-in renovations, but they are going great! Sometimes you start a project not know what you're getting yourself into but to me that's the fun part. "I already started...now I have to finish"

Lessons learned? Challenges?

As a realtor, i represented myself in the purchase. Looking back i wish i would have had a realtor friend represent me so I could keep some emotion out of it during negotiations.

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

To close on this deal I worked with my favorite lender from Guild Mortgage and the most spectacular closer from Title Partners Agency in St. Louis.