Single family home near Allianz Field in St. Paul, MN

[Peter Christensen]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Saint Paul.

Purchase price: $223,000
Cash invested: $70,644

Single family home in a nice area but I believe has a lot of potential for appreciation since it is close to the soccer stadium, bars and restaurants, and the light rail line. It's also very close to one university and somewhat close to four other universities, which acts as a great "moat around my business". If all else fails, I could rent to students (and probably make more money, just potentially have more issues).

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

This is my first investment (unless you count house-hacking my home back when I had roommates who paid me rent), so I just wanted to get my feet wet and learn how to be a landlord and see if it's right for me.

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

I bought off-market from another investor. My agent's boss (their team lead) was the seller's agent so we found a deal that worked for both of us.

How did you finance this deal?

30 year fixed rate traditional mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

Simple repairs and cosmetic improvements

What was the outcome?

It's currently renting for a great rate with great tenants.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

It's worth putting in a little more effort up front to be able to rent the unit for top dollar. Also, it was worth asking an agent for help and to mentor me in finding an off-market deal.

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

Yes