Old Brick SFH converted to Duplex

[John T. Adams]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $58,000
Cash invested: $14,000

Purchased an old brick 2 family building way under the original asking price ($100,000) for $58,000. I used a local bank to finance this deal. It was a renovation loan that required me to put down 13,000 dollars down for a 15 year loan at a 3.7% for an $80,000 loan ($22,000 in renovation advancements from bank). I had both units fixed up and rented by month 4 of acquiring and it has been cash flowing at $700 dollars per month.

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

The number made sense.

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

My older sister and her boyfriend were originally interested, but were turned away once finding out about the flood insurance you also had to get in order to purchase. Negotiate? The sellers apparently behind on their taxes and needed the money now..

How did you finance this deal?

Local Bank, Renovation Loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Sweat Equity. This was my first investment property and did a lot of the work myself. Going forward I will try to outsource this!

What was the outcome?

I learned a lot! Especially about the importance of anticipating the cost of repairs. The house was built in 1878 and on the Ohio river and it needed more than I thought!