What's the cheapest house you have ever bought?

[Owen Dashner]

Humblebrag - I just bought a house (on 2 lots) on Monday this week for $1,000! It is in a small town about an hour outside of Omaha, NE.  It is by far the cheapest property purchase I have ever been involved in. She is a beauty!

I am curious what is everyone's personal record is for cheapest property purchase and where it was located?

[Todd Goedeke]

@Jeff S., it’s the 1% rule for long term rentals. 
Subtract RE taxes and insurance and maintenance if you are going to calculate a net return.Appreciation is only realized after a sale not while it’s only on paper.

[Jeff S.]

@Todd Goedeke the 1% rule? That would be nice. Right now it is the .5% rule in my area. If you get 1% in Sheboygan that is nice. As an investor I would look at your area with your average home price of $168k and hope to get 1% or $1680 per month. I would expect to subtract 50% for "RE taxes and insurance and maintenance" and cap x netting me $840 per month on my $168k investment or 6%. With leverage paying under 6% we start squeezing out more return. I read price are skyrocketing in your area so potentially a good investment. Not sure what kind of people live there and I can't ride my bike there so a very long drive of 2000 miles.

Buy 12 of them and get them paid off for 10k per month.

[Todd Goedeke]

@ Jeff S. Continuing on your comment, I would not invest in any LTR compared to what I can earn on a STVR. You talk about a 6% return on a LTR being good. I can earn 10% net before leverage. I lease my property to a company paying me 10% ( of property cost)net, they pay all RE taxes,interior maintenance and insurance costs. 
I am a totally passive investor never lifting a finger except to deposit a lease payment. I deal with no tenants or non- occupancy. I never answer phone to fix problems.

In addition, with 25% down and a 30 year loan @ 4.5% I am getting a fixed 20% ROI, cash on cash return. On one property held by my Solo 401k I am getting cash flow and any future appreciation of the property 100% tax free forever.

How does that compare to your 6% deal?

[Jeff S.]

Sounds good @Todd Goedeke tell us more. Have been getting letters about a rental and my home from Vacasa. 

I hear about people grossing huge with STR. Have a Portland duplex which I may eventually exchange into STR when my handyman wants to relocate and take on a project at the coast.

[Sean Tagge]

I bought a house for $1. a tree fell on it and the owner took an insurance claim walked away with some good money and we bought the house for $1.00

[Owen Dashner]

@Chastity Cortijo what?!?

Where was this, Chernobyl?? Teach me your ways!

[Anjahlia Dooley]

Wow! I'm amazed at some of these deals! My cheapest so far is 19k in Columbus, GA. 

[Melanie Thomas]

Holy smokes! some of these answers are very interesting. Happy Investing!

[Ed W.]

Near Grove City, OH, a seller gave me $500 to take her property.  On Fifth Ave, in Columbus, OH - I honestly don't quite recall but I either bought it for $200 and sold it for $500 or bought it for $500 and sold it for $800.

[Eliott Elias]

18k 

[David Krulac]

Besides the $50 house which was all brick, and had new electric service and a new roof, referrenced earlier. But the house needed everything else and I sold as-is for $1,000.

I also bought another house for $1,800.  AFTER I bought it a driver ran his car into the house, literally, the car was inside the first floor of the house.  It happened on a Friday night at 2AM and might have involved other substances.  I didn't find out about the accident for 2 weeks.  There was structural damage not only to the hit zone but also on 2 other sides of the house, which was made of concrete block.  After getting the police report, I filed a claim with the driver's auto insurance and got a claim paid for $20,000.  I had an appraisal done and the property was appraised at $44,000 and I donated the house as is to a college and got a tax deduction of $24,000.