First solo real estate investment

[John Hamilton]

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment in Canon City.

Purchase price: $330,000
Cash invested: $20,000

This is a ranch type property with a 2 bd/1 ba 950 sq/ft house and 3 additional out buildings. Currently the 4 acre field is being leased by a local farmer and I am currently working on turning the second out building into an ADU.

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

With a large property such as this, it opens additional opportunities for future renovations and ultimately income.

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

This deal was found on the local MLS. Originally, it was listed at $350,000 but was in rough shape and would only qualify for a conventional loan. It sat on the market for about 90 days due to this fact and I ended up negotiating a deal for $330,000.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan

How did you add value to the deal?

After closing on the deal late November, I began renovations on the main house which lasted until mid March. Renovations consisted of all new paint, flooring throughout the house, trim, lighting/ceiling fans, and fixing many small issues as they came up.

What was the outcome?

A completely renovated house which I began to rent out while I was in Europe for the summer. I added about 20k of equity on top of the renovation costs.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Many challenges arose throughout the process. Mainly the flooring due to the fact that this particular house was built in the early 1900s and the floor was anything but level. I learned a ton throughout this process and look forward to the next one!