What's the cheapest house you have ever bought?

Lender · Omaha, NE · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

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?

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Ted KaaschPro Member

Real Estate Agent · Omaha, NE · Member since 2017 · 112 posts · 62 votes

My cheapest home was 12k. Renovated for around 80k. Appraised around 150k.

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Michael Noto
Real Estate Agent · Southington, CT · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
4y
$55k for a 4-unit in New Britain, CT about 7-8 years ago, needed 25-30k worth of work. Ended up being a great deal in the end.
2 Reply
Reed Vennel
Investor · Phoenixville, PA · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 26 votes
4y
Originally posted by @Luciano A.:
@Owen Dashner
So this deal was how much money was out of my pocket from the start to purchase. Cheapest was $100. Bank approached me with a few properties they wanted off their books. The loan included the rehab cost and I only had to bring $100 to the closing table. The property was for $40k and $15k in rehab but I had only $100 in the deal. This was back in 2010. Recently sold for $200k.

Wow! How'd you build up the kind of relationship where the bank contacted you to buy the house? I'd love to be in that position.

Mine was $62,500. We bought it from the winning bidder at the sheriffs sale for something like 5k over what they paid. The house precedes record keeping in the local area, so it's at least 120 years old. Had been an illegal rental that became a crack den, then the landlord couldn't evict, because it wasn't a legal rental--so nothing was kept up and the occupants did more and more damage. Then the police raided and tore the place apart looking for drugs, and THEN it finally went to auction.
1 Reply
George Cummings
Investor · Columbia, MO · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 6 votes
4y
I purchased a property back in 2014 when the economy was still slower. I purchased it for $39,000. I had to do a little work to it and put a new roof on it and I was all in about $45,000. I have been renting it out for seven years and got rent up to $550 a month. I just took advantage of the market right now and I sold the house for $77,000 and I am doing a 1031 into some multi family.
1 Reply
John MorganPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
48k with a 401k loan 3 years ago. It’s now worth 195k.
1 Reply
Bhekizwe M.
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 253 votes
4y
Thanks for sharing.i believe doing the numbers increases chances of getting ultra bargains
Well done
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Owen DashnerPro Member
OP
Lender · Omaha, NE · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Originally posted by @Michael Noto:
$55k for a 4-unit in New Britain, CT about 7-8 years ago, needed 25-30k worth of work. Ended up being a great deal in the end.

Wowza - I had no idea anything in CT could be bought for anything close to that price, even if it was 8 years ago. Nice work!

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Owen DashnerPro Member
OP
Lender · Omaha, NE · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Originally posted by @John Morgan:
48k with a 401k loan 3 years ago. It’s now worth 195k.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that your property purchase slightly outperformed your 401K during that time? :)

That is a creative way to juice your retirement funds!

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Owen DashnerPro Member
OP
Lender · Omaha, NE · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Originally posted by @Lee L Eby:
@Owen Dashner
My cheapest house we bought for $10 k put $50,000. Into it and sold it for $105,000.

Awesome! Was that one in SC? Strong!

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Luka Milicevic
Real Estate Agent · Nashville, TN · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
I paid $100,000 for a property in Dickson, TN in 2017. Zero renovation. Rented to the same people for 1100/mo.
It appraised last week for 223k
3 Reply
Ted KaaschPro Member
Real Estate Agent · Omaha, NE · Member since 2017 · 112 posts · 62 votes
4y
@Owen Dashner looks like you have a trending post. Maybe we need to cover this topic in our next weeks podcast? We can talk about your and my cheapest buys and maybe interview a few of the people that posted?
1 Reply
Ricardo Ramirez
Flipper/Rehabber · Middletown, NY · Member since 2022 · 31 posts · 6 votes
4y
@Ted Kaasch that's totally BS. No offense but how?!?!
0 Reply
Justin Fox
Software Developer · Vidor, TX · Member since 2015 · 922 posts · 639 votes
4y
$31,000 for a little house on an acre. Someone came out and took it for free, I then had the land replatted into two $40,000.00, 0.5 acre lots.
2 Reply
Steve Vaughan
Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
4y
$23k net net to seller, so closer to $25k in 2006. In an appreciation market.
Out of state seller inherited it. We could smell the cats from the street and he didn't know how many bedrooms it had.
A new mortgage of $106k helped me survive the great recession as my credit lines collapsed all around me.
2 Reply
Derrick Craig
Memphis, TN · Member since 2013 · 969 posts · 524 votes
4y
@Michael W. McCord Thanks!! Yes you are correct it was purchased Sept 2, 2016. Yes, I am managing the property myself. In this particular property it is normal it was built in 1955 and I guess back then builders were not adding a bunch of Cabinet space and this 4 plex are set up a little like studio apartments. If I could find/purchase and rehab 50 more of these types of properties I would do it in a heartbeat. So yes it is worth doing.
Kind regards
2 Reply
John MorganPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
Originally posted by @Owen Dashner:
Originally posted by @John Morgan:
48k with a 401k loan 3 years ago. It’s now worth 195k.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that your property purchase slightly outperformed your 401K during that time? :)

That is a creative way to juice your retirement funds!

Haha! I did have to spend 50k to do a full rehab on it though. But yeah, I’m happy with the cash flow. And the 401k is almost paid off.

1 Reply
Sherry Patterson
Real Estate Broker · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2015 · 221 posts · 125 votes
4y
I have bought two super cheap: 1. $15k Paris, TX 2. $18k Wichita Falls, TX. I have never seen either one of them, did zero work and put them on facebook to owner finance and sold them. They are 10 year notes at 9% interest. The one in Paris I will profit $33,000 and the one in Wichita Falls $34,000. Happy Investing!
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Owen DashnerPro Member
OP
Lender · Omaha, NE · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Originally posted by @Sherry Patterson:
I have bought two super cheap: 1. $15k Paris, TX 2. $18k Wichita Falls, TX. I have never seen either one of them, did zero work and put them on facebook to owner finance and sold them. They are 10 year notes at 9% interest. The one in Paris I will profit $33,000 and the one in Wichita Falls $34,000. Happy Investing!

Tell me your secrets! Were they both investors that bought them, or owner occ?

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Ned CareyPro Member
Moderator
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
4y
$2,000. With all closing costs the total amount was $4,800 . This was NET there was no financing. Sold as is for $17k.
I think the buyer actually had to bring money to closing to sell it.
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Owen DashnerPro Member
OP
Lender · Omaha, NE · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Originally posted by @Ned Carey:
$2,000. With all closing costs the total amount was $4,800 . This was NET there was no financing. Sold as is for $17k.
I think the buyer actually had to bring money to closing to sell it.

Jeez - could you imagine selling a house for 2 grand and STILL having to bring money to closing?! The $1K house I just bought, the seller called me 7 times the day I looked at it and kept following up asking when she could get her money, which ended up being like $720 net. I mean, the appliances, furnace and water heater are worth more than the house!

With the price of lumber now, it might ha made sense to strip it for the wood alone!

1 Reply
Sherry Patterson
Real Estate Broker · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2015 · 221 posts · 125 votes
4y
@Owen Dashner They are owner occupied. When they can "buy" a house for less than they can rent they are easy to sell. One pays only $350 a month and the other $400. This covers their mortgage and taxes. They are responsible for getting their own insurance. Plus they own it so no expenses for me, I just hold the note. If they don't pay, no problem I will just foreclose and sell it again.
1 Reply
Michael MagnoBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Wadsworth, OH · Member since 2017 · 234 posts · 168 votes
4y
Just bought a small single family rental in Akron Ohio for $18k. Inherited a tenant paying $600/month.
0 Reply
Brian Ashley Austin
Rental Property Investor · NC · Member since 2019 · 14 posts · 11 votes
4y
@Owen Dashner Our cheapest was 0$. Yup. Zero, zilch, natta, nothing. We had originally went under contract on a 2 acres 3/2 for 1,000$. We wanted to demo the house and use the property for a storage facility as it is adjacent to two major highways. Shortly after we went under contract the 200k res next to it close to a gold mining outfit! Owner was notified his taxes were going up and thus, we paid nothing.
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Dan Bass
Kansas City, KS · Member since 2019 · 58 posts · 66 votes
4y
@Owen Dashner $40,000. It was my first house as I lived in it while fixing it up. Bought it 0# down as well. It still cashflows to this day
0 Reply
Chris Bruni
Rental Property Investor · Poynette, WI · Member since 2017 · 37 posts · 41 votes
4y
Cheapest I ever bought was for $14K. Rennovated for almost $100K. Been a tremendous rental for the past 5 years. Valued at $170K today.
0 Reply
Bud Gaffney
Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
$75,000 condo New Bedford, MA Feb of 2014
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