The First House Hack

[Bradley Dosch]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $366,000
Cash invested: $11,000

This was my first house hack and first time investing in real estate. I lived in the basement of a single family house and rented out the upstairs bedrooms to cover my mortgage and cash flow. It now cash flows roughly $200/month after all expenses. I bought this property with a 3% down conventional loan in October 2019. We put about $50k worth of renovations into this property. After having bought it in October 2019 for $366k, it is currently worth $475k. Plenty of road bumps but I learned lots

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

The owner occupant financing that I could take advantage of

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

Found it on the MLS. Was able to beat out other offers but creating a genuine relationship with the listing broker.

How did you finance this deal?

3% down conventional owner occupant loan with a 3.5% interest rate

How did you add value to the deal?

~$50k in renovations. Added a bedroom by adding a egress window. Landscaping, painting, new kitchen, refinished the basement, new windows, etc.

What was the outcome?

Tenant roommates covered mortgage and other expenses. I lived for free. After 12 months, moved out and handed keys to property manager. About $100k in total appreciation. Modest cash flow

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned a bunch about managing tenants and renovations

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

Yes - Casey Miller from Liv Sotheby was my real estate agent. He was great. Mo Robinson from First Western Trust Bank was my lender and also fantastic.