First property in the Southside of Savannah

[Jameson Cunningham]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $105,000
Cash invested: $15,000

Our first property was a live in flip that served as our residence for 3 years until we moved out and began to rent it out!

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

Our goal of buying and holding cash flowing rental properties had to start somewhere! Utilizing the VA loan allowed my wife and I to buy our first property to live in and eventually rent out.

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

I found the deal on Craigslist FSBO.

How did you finance this deal?

VA Loan

How did you add value to the deal?

This deal became a cosmetic flip due to dated interior, bad colors, and the odor of cat urine throughout the house.

We repainted, accomplished trim work, and laid roughly 1k sq ft of wood look tile throughout the house.

What was the outcome?

The house ultimately went from renting under market for 800 per month to now renting for 1300 a month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

If you're paying someone to work on a project for you, pay the reputable contractor first rather than taking a chance on someone who doesn't have references.

When you're remodeling the house yourself while living in it, take it one room at a time. Ripping all the carpet out and living on concrete for several months is a TERRIBLE idea.

Cutting costs by doing demo, prep, painting, etc is great but the saving should be put toward quality work in other aspects (trim work, flooring, etc.)

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

Larry and Lawanda Allen of the Allen Real Estate Group in Savannah, GA were phenomenal in helping us not only acquire the property but also in the management of the property.