Fixer-upper was a great learning opportunity

[Hami Day]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Provo.

Purchase price: $225,000
Cash invested: $60,000

Small duplex just south of BYU campus. Renovated it ourselves and very pleased with how it has turned out. Great money generator.

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

The house was in shambles but in a great location so we realized that with a lot of effort and some upfront costs, we could turn it into a great long-term investment.

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

A friend of ours knew we were in the market and reached out and were interested and motivated to sell it so we were able to negotiate through a third party off-market. It helps to ask friends about their homes when they are interested in entertaining a change.

How did you add value to the deal?

By doing most of the work ourselves or hiring out one-off contractors, we were able to handle the majority of the renovations in a cheap manner. I also grew to be a fan of having contractors come out and ask them questions about the job so I learned what to do myself.

What was the outcome?

A steady, revenue-generating rental property with happy tenants

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We found that sometimes just getting someone in to do a project right, rather than bargain hunting is the best option because there were times when we ended up spending more time and money