All Forum Posts by: Ivan Shalavuta

@Trenton Lukenbill thank you, you as well!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $220,000
Cash invested: $48,600

Another house hack! Bought it as a primary residence and after adding a sweat equity turned it into STVR.

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

The property is located in an area where no restrictions on STVR. I was able to bring the value up by cosmetically updating it.

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

On the MLS and negotiated myself as my own realtor.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan with a local lender and 10% downpayment.

How did you add value to the deal?

Paint, floors, new kitchen, and bathroom updates. I was working on it while living there.

What was the outcome?

After finishing the renovations I hired a property manager and started renting it as STVR. So far it has been a little over six months with an average net income of $350+ a month. Has not gotten into the busy season just yet to evaluate the income fully.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learning to pick the property manager better and deal with unexpected repairs hands-off.

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

I represented myself since I'm a licensed realtor in the area.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $134,000
Cash invested: $44,280

This was a perfect house hack with buying a home as a primary residence using a 10% down conventional loan and renovating while living in it for about a year. After moving out I was able to cashflow ~$1,000/month but ended up refinancing and getting all my money out of it, still cash-flowing $450/month, and using the money to buy me another rental property.

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

The easiest way to start investing in real estate is househack which I was planning on for a while before pulling a trigger.

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

On MLS and negotiated myself since I'm a licensed agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan with a 10% downpayment, used my commission towards closing costs, and had a seller pay a portion of the closing costs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Remodeled cosmetically mostly while living there.

What was the outcome?

First roughly $1,000 net cashflow a month, then after refinancing ~$450 net passive income a month plus extracting around $44,000 out of it.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Vetting specialists for the work that needed to be done including the property manager. Struggling with finding great people who do what they say they are going to do.

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

Yes, the local lender was a lifesaver.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $134,000
Cash invested: $44,280

This was a perfect house hack with buying a home as a primary residence using a 10% down conventional loan and renovating while living in it for about a year. After moving out I was able to cashflow ~$1,000 a month but ended up refinancing and getting all my money out of it. Now property still cashflows $450 a month and money that I received from refinance ended up buying me another rental property. Ultimately I achieved an infinite return on my investment: without having any money in the deal I flow roughly $450 monthly and have around $100K equity in the property.

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

The easiest way to start investing in real estate is househack which I was planning on for a while before pulling a trigger.

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

On MLS and negotiated myself since I'm a licensed agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan with a 10% downpayment, used my commission towards closing costs, and had a seller pay a portion of the closing costs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Remodeled cosmetically mostly while living there.

What was the outcome?

First roughly $1,000 net cashflow a month, then after refinancing ~$450 net passive income a month plus extracting around $44,000 out of it.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Vetting specialists for the work that needed to be done including the property manager. Struggling with finding great people who do what they say they are going to do.

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

Yes, the local lender was a lifesaver.

@Erin Porter I'm a local realtor in Savannah and invest in LTR as well as STR myself. Let me know how I can help.

Thank you, I agree!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $145,000
Cash invested: $8,700
Sale price: $210,000

The property was purchased for a quick flip with a light cosmetic refresh.

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

The seller of the property found me through my craigslist post about buying homes for cash. He needed to sell it quickly without going through the listing with an agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Private money.

How did you add value to the deal?

Changing the carpet in the bedrooms, painting walls inside, cleaning, and doing landscape.

What was the outcome?

Approximately $51,000 of net profit between me and a private money investor.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Managing help in the proper order was challenging to finish the project fast.

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

I am a local Realtor.

Do you market “behind on mortgage” lists?

What are your best strategies, lead sources, and frequencies of tapping that category?

Thank you for your input.

@Isaac Wall Savannah has regulations in place for STVR which limited to the properties only in Historic, Victorian and Streetcar Districts, however a lot of people have great success on the islands. Big part of Wilmington and Whitemarsh Islands is in unincorporated Chatham county territory and perfectly located between downtown and the beach which attracts most of the tourists.

Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions. I’m local realtor and investor in the area.

@Jane Adams you've got great replies that describe the STVR situation perfectly in Savannah.

I would like to add that (if you find the lot to build) you can narrow down your search to unincorporated Chatham County territory. Ideally on Wilmington Island since its perfectly located between downtown Savannah and the beach on Tybee. Currently, there are no regulations in place there and you will be able to rent the property out for less than 30 days. The return is great, some 3 Bd homes bring over $5-6k gross during the season however the taxes can be pretty high ($3,500+ year).

Hope this is helpful.