House hack in St. Charles, MO

[Matt Burgess]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in St. Charles.

Purchase price: $230,000
Cash invested: $9,997

Duplex house hack

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

I found this deal on craigslist. It was listed for $245,000 and I offered $235,000. We met in the middle at $240,000. Then the appraisal came in at $230,000 so the sellers came down as they did not want to restart the process.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA 3.5% down

How did you add value to the deal?

Gradually improving the property by raising rents, improving curb appeal (trimming overgrown trees/ bushes, new landscaping, power washing). Also plan to remodel kitchen and bathroom for the unit we live in.

What was the outcome?

*Desired outcome: Refinance into a conventional loan as soon as we can and begin looking for another house hack that we can purchase with an FHA loan.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

FHA loans are expensive, but also a great way to get into a home with not a lot of money down.

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

We were lucky to have a great team of professionals throughout the process. Our lender was Carrollton Bank (St. Charles) and they were very responsive and helpful throughout the whole process. We moved closing up a week early and Carrollton handled that with no problem. Our agent was Tina Knox. We couldn't have asked for a better agent to help us with our first purchase. She went above and beyond in every way possible. We would highly recommend Carrollton and Tina to anyone looking to buy in STC