Househacking our start to REI

[David McKee]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Altamonte Springs.

Purchase price: $257,000
Cash invested: $30,000

Contributors:
Russell Holmes

This is our start to investing! We're(Taylor and I) House Hacking our 4/2 in Altamonte Springs. We did a 'Modernizing" facelift in the first few months of ownership. Now we live for free!!
Big shout-out to Russell Holmes for helping us find the property, and working on both sides as the seller's and buyer's agent to make a win-win scenario for all parties involved! He most definitely went above and beyond and we will be working together for many years to come I'm sure!

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

Lots of podcasts, books, talking to others about the power of Househacking, and after saving up for down payment, building a credit score, we quickly found this diamond in the rough. It's still new at only 2 months, but the freedom in finances this allows us is really amazing, and we feel no negatives of having people in our home! Everyone gets along great!

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

After searching on Redfin for months for a 4/2, (I had my heart set on going bigger to begin with for rent stability, and long term, we can grow in to this house and not have to uproot)I'd always find something I didn't really like, from small lot, to HOA, Price, small SF, too nice, too far gone, there was always something to sacrifice. Russell had this property listed and it was a perfect fit! Even got a back porch which was bonus! We offered 13k under asking and they accepted in a day!

How did you finance this deal?

FAIRWINDS Credit Union, which my spouse works at gave us a great rate, and allowed 5% down on a 30 year. We also get 1% off that rate for as long as she's an employee :), saving us some money and making the househack cashflow. Next we're looking to re-appraise for $500 to knock that PMI off with all the sweat equity and market appreciation.

How did you add value to the deal?

Scraped popcorn ceilings, sprayed and painted the new knockdown texture, new electrical outlets everywhere, added Alumiconns to all electrical because of aluminum wiring, Found Offerup deals on fans/furniture, LED light fixtures everywhere, Patched drywall in every room in the house, sprayed new orange peel texture, painted every wall, new water valves in the house, new kitchen sink, new dishwasher, new real wood vanities in both baths, new granite countertops with new sinks and faucets, new ba

What was the outcome?

After unsuccessfully trying to find quality tenants for 2 months through FB Marketplace, Apartments.com(bought out cozy), roomies.com, I was told about Roomster.com and within a week we had all 3 rooms rented up! Now the mortgage, AND all of the utilities, water, trash, internet, power is covered. Our living expenses are only the food and gas we use.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Dealing with finding tenants is harder than I thought. I really appreciate the work that Property Management firms do now.
I found out how much I really enjoy working on houses to force appreciation! This was also the first time buying a home, so now we're more comfortable in that space.

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

Absolutely, Russell Holmes went so far above and beyond what any normal Realtor would do for both us as the buyer's and for the Seller's. It truly worked out to be a win-win-win.