First deal, looking back after 2yr.

[Alexander Carr]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Okeechobee.

Purchase price: $80,000
Cash invested: $30,000

$80,000 - Bought distressed 2/1 single-family home built in 1940's with excessive water/termite damage.

$20,000 - Replaced the roof, plumbing, hvac, electrical and full interior renovation all DIY (previously worked construction and still have friends in the trades, currently am a commercial building inspector which helped a bit).

Leased to a tenant cash flowing $1,000/month after $500 mortgage/tax/insurance expenses.

Appraised at $135,000 now.

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

It was the only deal I was able to afford at the time.

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

Hunted for handyman specials and found this listed for $100k, contacted the sellers agent directly and after negotiating was able to secure for $80k

How did you add value to the deal?

New roof, new well/softener, new hvac, new plumbing, new electrical, new paint, new flooring, new drywall, new fixtures. All DIY with some help from friends that I used to work construction with back in the day.

What was the outcome?

Decent cashflow and appreciation. Most importantly learned a ton along the way :)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned that it can be easier to do a full gut and renovation instead of fixing one item at a time and working around other issues.