Our first investment (apart from our primary residence).

[Stephen Heleniak]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $231,000
Cash invested: $57,750

We bought this house as a rental, but that we would like to move into eventually and make our current residence a rental. We have redone the kitchen countertops, and the master bedroom walls and floors.

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

We were looking to buy a house that we could rent for the time being then live in eventually. We were not able to afford the mortgage at the time, but wanted to invest in real estate, and wanted to move into it eventually.

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

We used our realtor that helped us find our first home. This house was actually listed at about $30,000 higher and was out of our price range. The seller then brought down the price and we were instantly interested. It is in a desirable part of town and a very charming older home.

How did you finance this deal?

We did a traditional loan with 25% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

We painted the whole interior of the house, took down the wall paper in the master bedroom and front bathroom, tore out the carpet in the master bedroom to expose beautiful wood floors and put in new kitchen countertops with a subway tile backsplash. We also had the electrical updated with new outlets and canned lighting in the living room. We took down the old, rusted metal awnings from the outside windows and cleaned up the two big Sycamore trees (one in the front and one in the back).

What was the outcome?

The house looks more updated and clean while holding its charm.