All Forum Posts by: Galen Heckathorn

 We were able to fix up 3 of the 4 bedrooms in about 3 weeks, new texture, paint, flooring ect before we moved in. We slept in one, stored the rest of our stuff in one, and had our home office in the third. Then we went at the rest of the house all at once, leaving 1 bathroom in tact which was a terrible and barely functioned but did the job. As I had mentioned in the post the kitchen was in good shape so we lucked out there. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Forestville.

Purchase price: $705,000
Cash invested: $180,000
Sale price: $1,200,000

We bought this and moved in as our primary residence. It was very distressed, the roof leaked, 1 of the 2 bathrooms was in non functioning, and it came with 2 "tenants" living in trailers that we had to remove. It was a beautiful piece of land though on a private lane, with municipal utilities. We renovated the house over the next 18 months, doing 90% of the work ourselves. We vaulted the living room ceiling, added a covered porch, then replaced just about everything except the kitchen, New roof, floors, plumbing, bathrooms, 30% of the electrical system, paint inside and out, water heater, furnace, exterior doors, half the driveway. We also added a 1,000 sqft deck with 300sqft shaded pergola. Removed about 150 yards of trash and yard waste. Then we rented it out for a positive cash flow for 2 years as the market went up and then sold it.

Investment Info:

Other other investment.

Purchase price: $103,000

This deal has too many details to explain briefly but the basic situation was. Bought some raw land with 2 partners. Then got the land some entitlements from the county. Then sold my share to the other partners.

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

Through a friends family.

How did you finance this deal?

All cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Acquired a CUP for the land.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I hate dealing with municipalities on that level. Getting a CUP is very hard.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $705,000
Cash invested: $180,000
Sale price: $1,200,000

We bought this and moved in as our primary residence. It was very distressed It was a beautiful piece of land though on a private lane, with municipal utilities. We renovated the house over the next 18 months. lived there for another year. Then we rented it out for a positive cash flow for 2 years as the market went up and then sold it.

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

We were young and wanted a project. It seemed like a great way to build some equity.

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

MLS, the property was horribly distressed, we were able to come up with about a 100k worth of repairs that "needed" to be done to the property that we had professionals bid. We worked the seller for a while with this and then asked them for 65k off the ask price.

How did you finance this deal?

traditional loan with 20% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Through all the repairs we made, and by doing most of the work ourselves. For the things we did not do ourselves we were able to get done for cheap and fast because we have a strong network locally of people as well.

What was the outcome?

Made a good return on our money and labor.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned a whole lot and, honed our skills in the construction world, plumbing, electrical, flooring, framing repair, tile, paint ect.

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

Michael Lunning

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $705,000
Cash invested: $180,000
Sale price: $1,200,000

We bought this and moved in as our primary residence. It was very distressed, the roof leaked, 1 of the 2 bathrooms was in non functioning, and it came with 2 "tenants" living in trailers that we had to remove. It was a beautiful piece of land though on a private lane, with municipal utilities. We renovated the house over the next 18 months, doing 90% of the work ourselves. We vaulted the living room ceiling, added a covered porch, then replaced just about everything except the kitchen, New roof, floors, plumbing, bathrooms, 30% of the electrical system, paint inside and out, water heater, furnace, exterior doors, half the driveway. We also added a 1,000 sqft deck with 300sqft shaded pergola. Removed about 150 yards of trash and yard waste. Then we rented it out for a positive cash flow for 2 years as the market went up and then sold it.

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

We were young and wanted a project. It seemed like a great way to build some equity.

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

MLS, the property was horribly distressed, we were able to come up with about a 100k worth of repairs that "needed" to be done to the property that we had professionals bid. We worked the seller for a while with this and then asked them for 65k off the ask price.

How did you finance this deal?

traditional loan with 20% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Through all the repairs we made, and by doing most of the work ourselves. We were able to get a lot of things done for cheap because we have a strong network locally of people as well.

What was the outcome?

Made a good return on our money and labor.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned a whole lot and, honed our skills in the construction world, plumbing, electrical, flooring, framing repair, tile, paint ect.

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

Michael Lunning

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $660,000
Cash invested: $207,000

3bed 2.5 bath with a 1bed 1 bath Granny over the garage

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

Cash flow.

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

I was in contract for a house down the street. When driving to that house I saw a for sale sign being put in this houses yard. I new exactly the floor plan and units this one had and immediately called my agent. He was able to get us into contract on this house the next day. We were still in our inspection period on the other place so could easily back out.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional investor loan %25 down.

How did you add value to the deal?

New flooring, fixtures, and appliances throughout the main house. The Granny unit we completely remodeled, new cabinets & counters, complete new bathroom, new floors, new appliances.

What was the outcome?

Great cashflow with very little maintenance and headache. When we do have turnover we get many qualified inquiries.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $422,000
Cash invested: $125,000

Bought this house with a partner as a primary residence in 2013. In 2016 I bought that partner out. Split the downstairs bedroom into a studio. Then moved out and rented both spaces.

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

In 2013 was able to make my first purchase, and wanted to live in a home I owned. I knew I had to grab anything that I could before prices went up any more. This house was relatively new and in a great neighborhood with a lot of potential.

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

MLS, with our realtor, had to pay over asking.

How did you finance this deal?

traditional 20% down owner oc. 30 year fixed.

How did you add value to the deal?

replaced the carpet with hardwood, landscaped the front and back yards. Expanded the downstairs bedroom into the 3rd car garage space adding about 220sqft to house. This bedroom already had a full bathroom attached to it. We added an exterior entrance, a kitchenet, and sealed it off from the rest of the house. The property now consists of the main house a 2,000 sqft 3bed 2 bath with 2 car garage, a studio apartment which is about 400 sqft.

What was the outcome?

Awesome rental property that I will probably hold onto forever.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Some partners can be hard to deal with but necessary at times. In the end it was all worth it. I also learned a lot about how to put together a set of plans to pull a permit with the city to add livable square footage to a house.

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

Michael Lunning is the realtor I used and continue to use, he is excellent.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $422,000
Cash invested: $125,000

Bought this house with a partner as a primary residence in 2013. In 2016 I bought that partner out. Then my wife and I expanded the downstairs bedroom into the 3rd car garage space. This bedroom already had a full bathroom attached to it. We added an exterior entrance, a kitchenet (24" range, 24" Sink, and undercabinet fridge), and sealed it off from the rest of the house. The property now consists of the main house a 2,000 sqft 3bed 2 bath with 2 car garage, a studio apartment which is about 400 sqft. We unfortunately pay the utilities at this property as the split was done retroactively with now way to split the meters. We do of course factor that into the rents charged.

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

In 2013 was able to make my first purchase, and wanted to live in a home I owned. I knew I had to grab anything that I could before prices went up any more. This house was relatively new and in a great neighborhood with a lot of potential.

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

MLS, with our realtor, had to pay over asking.

How did you finance this deal?

traditional 20% down owner oc. 30 year fixed.

How did you add value to the deal?

replaced the carpet with hardwood, landscaped the front and back yards. Added about 220 sqft of living space to a bedroom and an exterior entrance. Then turned that bedroom into a studio apartment.

What was the outcome?

Awesome rental property that I will probably hold onto forever.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Some partners can be hard to deal with but necessary at times. In the end it was all worth it. I also learned a lot about how to put together a set of plans to pull a permit with the city to add livable square footage to a house.

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

Michael Lunning is the realtor I used and continue to use, he is excellent.

Hi All,

I'm new to BiggerPockets. I live in the Sonoma county North of San Francisco, have lived here my whole life. I've been investing since 2013 when I bought my first single family which I then turned into a 2 unit home. I have since bought two more investment properties, one of which I just sold for a great profit. I'm looking to reinvest into multi family either a nice quadplex or two duplexes. I really want to stay local within Sonoma county as my wife and I have a lot to contribute to the properties, renovation skills, a network of subs for when we don't want to do certain jobs, and management skills. as well as knowing the area incredibly well. We are torn though as properties and real estate in general is so expensive here in Sonoma county. Every purchase when financed traditionally is very cash intensive. We have quite a bit to invest from the recent sale of our property but it would go so much father in other markets. That said we would not have access to all the tools and resources that we currently have locally. I would love to hear the communities opinion on how to priorities where to invest and what you all think would be the smartest move.

- Galen