Occupied foreclosure as a first time investment

[Kyle F.]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Troy.

This was my first property ever purchased. It is a duplex that I am house hacking while saving up for a second property. After looking at around a dozen houses on the market and seeing what they sold for, I bid on this foreclosure .

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

The house had previously sold for 141,000 in 2010 and pictures from that time were available online. Although you could not see the inside of the house at time of auction, you could see that both units were occupied and had the lights on, which meant to me I could bid up to around $110,000 and still make out alright.

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

I found the deal on zillow.com which directed me to auction.com where I purchased it through.

How did you finance this deal?

Private financing through somebody i know

How did you add value to the deal?

I have not added any value other then interior cosmetics and some appliances.

What was the outcome?

I now own a duplex which was a great start to my investing. The people living in the hose agreed to move out in 3 weeks. It took them around 6 weeks but it could have been much worse because this was right after the covid rules regarding evictions were put in place in NY.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

To be aware of the neighborhood and the importance of tenant screening. 

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

I had an agent show me other houses but did not use them for this purchase