My first condo in this complex!

[Rob Hayes]

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment in Lisle.

Bought this condo through the MLS in January 2013 with cash. We completely remodeled the unit and then did a cash out refinance loan. We rented out the property and it's been rented ever since to the same tenant.

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

It is a very simple investment which made the chances of it failing very minimal. This particular product also attracts single tenants which also makes it very simple to manage.

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

I purchased it off the MLS. I made an all-cash full-price site unseen offer within minutes of when it came on the market.

How did you finance this deal?

We paid all cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

We completely remodeled the property so that we could charge more rent.

What was the outcome?

We still own and rent the property. We have been getting a small annual rent increase every year. We haven't had one day of vacancy in the eight years we've owned it. I wish I would have bought 10 more of them.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The only challenge I would say we've had is that topic of whether or not we've been raising the rent enough.

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

It was so long ago... I honestly don't know who we used with deal. I did act as my own Realtor in the deal.... and I think I did a great job! ;-)