DC primary residence - house hacking

[Matthew Harbeson]

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $631,000
Cash invested: $76,500

Primary Residence - single family rowhouse purchased in April 2020. 3 bedrooms / 3 bathrooms, 1750 sq/ft.

Purchase Price: $631,000
Down payment: $49,900
Monthly cost (PITI): 3,185/month
Total renovation cost: $26,600
Total cash invested: $76,500
Monthly cost (PITI): $3,185 < refinanced to $2,941/mo in Oct. 2020

1 Roommate: $950/mo. lower rent due to COVID

Total monthly expense: $2,371/month (includes maintenance, reserves & utilities)

Plan to rent out in June 2021 for $3000/mo.

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

House Hacking & DC market appreciation

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

Redfin. Escalated in very competitive market. Only got it bc other buyers backed out due to COVID craziness.

How did you finance this deal?

30 yr fixed, conventional loan. 6.5% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Renovations included: upgrades to basement bedroom, upgraded kitchen, renovated master bathroom, new roof, upgrades to plumbing, and electric.

What was the outcome?

This was my first deal and there were a lot of lessons learned about buying an older house and doing renovations. Very frustrating at times but have seen huge appreciation and know the sweat equity will pay off.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

So many lessons learned. Biggest thing was how to work with/screen contractors (went through about 4) and if you're going to do a bunch of renovations don't try and piece meal projects; try and finish one room or area/floor together. Spend the time and effort to find a good contractor team and work with them. Don't always go with the cheaper option and have a flexible budget for renovations bc things will inevitably come up when working on older houses.

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

Russell Brazil - super dialed in with the DC market and a great negotiator.