This was my first home purchase in Nashville with my wife. We lived there for approximately 5 years and during that time added a in-law/STRP and garage in the back of the lot, one of the first in the area. We ran an Airbnb out of that loft apartment for 4 years and was able to basically pay all our bills for that whole time.
Sold in 2018 to move out to the country.

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

My wife and I always knew that buying property was a good investment. This definitely paid off.

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

We worked with a realtor who has become a great friend. She knew the contractor who was already planning to build the house, we got in early enough to customize a lot of the details from fixtures, to floors, paint, etc. I think we were able to negotiate down a little from original asking, but the deal was pretty fair for the size.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional mortgage, 30 year Fixed. We were able to use an IRA distribution for first time homebuyers that allows for up to $10k without penalty. Thanks mom and dad for getting me set up with an IRA early.

How did you add value to the deal?

The best value was adding the garage/apartment for Short term rental, lots of landscaping, and during build we outfitted with a lot of good finishes.

What was the outcome?

Sold the house after 5 and a half years. Ran an Airbnb out of the garage apartment for 4 years and was able to pay our mortgage for most of that time and all other bills with that business.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Short term rental is a tough job by yourself. We also need to vet contractors better. We used the same guy that built the house, and he was a disaster the second time around. We learned a lot about the process overall, dealing with the city for getting a short term rental going, we learned the price of landscaping (FYI, do as much as you can yourself, it's just manual labor).

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

We worked with Leah Cameron in Nashville, she has been a dream to work with on the purchase of two houses, and the sale of two.
Also worked with Forrest Hewes for setting up our mortgages, super cool guy, easy to work with and knows his work.