First ‘Deal’ House Hack

[Jaryn Pierson]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $168,000
Cash invested: $10,000

First home purchase. Bought a 2 Unit multi family. Long term tenants downstairs, AirBnB my personal apartment upstairs on the weekend. Although my property does not yet cash flow, I live there now free of charge while my guests & tenants build my equity.

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

This house that I purchased interested me because it had a unique layout. The hone is technically a two family, but I built a bedroom in the attic which has its own private entrance. Although I am usually out of town Friday - Monday morning which is when I AirBnB my apartment, if I need to, I have a place to sleep.

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

Found this deal right off the MLS. Although I really didn't want to pay for a property inspection because i didn't have a lot of money, I did it anyways and it paid off. I was able to know $12,000 off of the purchase price even in this market with the inspection in hand.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA Loan

How did you add value to the deal?

I’ve added value to this house so far by building a bedroom in the attic, and renovating the entire upstairs apartment. Although it was a good idea to do this on my own, I did learn that I probably actually didn’t save any money doing the work myself because of the time it took me in lost revenue.

What was the outcome?

The outcome was that now I have a place to live that is currently paying for itself. My goal is to not take any money out of this property, but to also not put any more of my own money in. To be continued…

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons learned…A good team is critical. Real estate agent, property inspector, lawyer and accountant have all been very useful. Also good cleaners are incredibly valuable because they kind of double as a short term rental property manager. Also good friends were incredible to talk me off the ledge multiple times. Without being too graphic, there were almost two weeks during my bathroom renovation when I had literally no bathroom. Kept my head in it and got it done.

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

Laiken Rapisarda - Agent
Brandon Bailey - Home Inspector