1st property: townhome house hack

[Charlotte Chew]

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment in San Antonio.

Purchase price: $92,000
Cash invested: $5,000

I bought this townhome as a primary residence before I knew I wanted to get into real estate investing. It was a good little home, 3 bed, 3.5 bath, perfect for roommates. I moved out of it to househack another property and have had it rented out two years, cash flowing about $70/month. A good little spring board property into investing. I did a cash out refi on it to help me get the down payment for my 2nd property. And I lived for free while I lived in it since my roommates paid my mortgage.

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

I wanted to get out of living in apartments and this was a house I could afford at the time and bought it as my primary residence.

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

MLS listing and I think I offered close to list price.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

It was pretty turnkey moving in. I lived there 4 years and had roommates. I did a cash out refi to get down payment for my 2nd property.

What was the outcome?

This house was my first rental property. It rents for ~$150 over what my PITI, HOA fees & management fees are. Current residents are in their 2nd year of a lease. I self managed the first year but now I have Darwin Homes manage it.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Managing the property was interesting. I had one company who charged a lot and didnt do much, so I self managed for awhile. The neighborhood the townhome is in is super quiet and the tenants came from a more boisterous neighborhood. I had to re-explain HOA rules and the "culture" of the neighborhood so tenants understood expectations.
Now that I've found a management company that's a better fit, paying someone to manage it is totally worth it.

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

Griff Zolninger-realtor
Dale Lucas-lender
Darwin Homes-Property management