My First Investment; I Wish I Never Sold

[Grace Esteban]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Oakland.

Purchase price: $237,000
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $600,000

I bought this house when all my friends were fearful to buy a place in Oakland. The City is big and there are bad places but majority of the places in Oakland are safe. This is a Tudor type of house. Two-story with a nice small backyard.

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

The house is aethetically pleasing with very little need for repair.

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

It is a short sale and ther was really nothing to negotiate.

How did you finance this deal?

My student loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

I updated the plumbing and painted the interior. I also updated the stairs.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I wish I never sold the house. I could have hold on to it and rent it out.