A not-so great deal that turned out pretty good

[Amanda Harding]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Providence.

Purchase price: $192,000
Cash invested: $6,000
Sale price: $224,000

This was my first house-- I bought it not knowing a thing about real-estate. I had a bad realtor and I over paid for the house. It was mostly move in ready but needed some cosmetic updates and TLC which I was able to do myself. I lived in the house for 1.5yrs and "house hacked" with roommates the whole time. Somewhere along the line I found bigger pockets and became OBSESSED with real-estate... consuming everything I could. I ended up selling in November 2020-- read below for how it turned out!

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

I just knew I wanted to buy a house-- I didn't know much else about real-estate at the time. I also knew that having a roommate would lower my payments so I was looking for houses that could accommodate that comfortably. ( I later found out that is called house hacking).

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

I found this house through the MLS, but I wasn't working with a realtor who had my best interest in mind. I ended up overpaying for the house at $192k when the appraisal was at $174k and my realtor sold it to me as a great deal.

How did you finance this deal?

I used conventional financing with 5% down, borrowing from my 401k for the downpayment.

How did you add value to the deal?

The house was mostly move in ready but needed some cosmetic updates and TLC which I was able to do myself. Lost of paint, ripped up old carpet and found gorgeous hardwood floors underneath, landscaping, repainted the front door and shutters, repainted the front fence, built a window box. I lived in the house for 1.5yrs and "house hacked" with roommates the whole time.

What was the outcome?

After about 1.5 years I bought a 2 family and moved into that bringing my "house hacking" renters with me to rent the second unit. I rented out the single family for a few months before deciding to sell (the market was hot and I want to be buying multi-families). My single fam tenants actually ended up buying the house from me! I may have been able to get more if I listed, but I was able to save on realtor fees and had a sure deal so I went with it.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I started out knowing very little about real-estate. I got a bit lucky with how things worked out.With this property I learned how to prioritize projects, and biggest of all, how to be a landlord. I also learned how to analyze deals and got a realtor that was also an investor and could help me progress. I'm so grateful for Bigger Pockets and my new realtor and his team.

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

If you are in the RI, MA area, I highly recommend my current realtor, Dave Zuller at Westcott Properties.