Live-in flip or House Hacking

[Nadia Chase]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Jackson.

Purchase price: $72,500
Cash invested: $13000
Sale price: $115,000

This was our first home, we look for a long time until we were able to find a house that was: one of the smallest and ugliest in the decent neighborhood. Once we did we moved in and started a very slow renovation process, we spend about 13k, mostly did all the work ourselves.

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

We were originally looking to buy a duplex, but we did not find any that was good enough for us to want to live in. So we settled for a small house just outside of the city limits. We new we wanted to make the best use of our money and the best use of the FHA loan. So we found a home that was livable but had room for improvement.

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

MLS listing

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan with 3.5 down.

How did you add value to the deal?

We change carpet floor for laminate planks, moved the washer/dryer close to bathroom and created mudroom space. Added insulation, added some cabinets and a dishwasher in kitchen, change counter top and painted.

What was the outcome?

We were able to made a nice profit that we re-invested in our second home that we are currently flipping.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Patience, it took a while to find one that was good enough to live in and that would make sense financially. Also to get a good real estate agent. I wasn't very happy with ours and I ended up becoming one.

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

Yes I did, unless you have experience in the area ( I am an agent now for 4 years) I would always recommend to get an agent, especially when buying (is free!). Also don't be afraid to fire the ones you don't like even if you are under contract with one, there are ways to get out of those.