Our first investment property

[Moses Botello]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $220,000
Cash invested: $70,000

This is our primary home which to me is my best investment.

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

This is the third house we are in and it took us this long to realize that our homes typically gave us a high return. This time, we are going to intentionally pour into a second house as a rental.

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

We found this property through our realtor. The price had dropped to within our budget after the previous owners were no longer on speaking terms due to a divorce they were going through.

How did you finance this deal?

We put 20% down and financed the rest through a lender.

How did you add value to the deal?

Over the last 5 years, we've updated the bathrooms, kitchen, new shingles, replaces all inside doors, ran a gas line to the stove, replaces facia and other details costing us approximately $25,000.

What was the outcome?

We have over 50% of our home in equity which now gives us the leverage to refinance and put the funds down to purchase a second home.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I've learned that hard work, sweat, elbow grease and persistance pays off. One of the challenges we faced is having to live in a constant construction zone.

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

Yes.