Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $160,000
Cash invested: $3,500

I did access 41k of a LOC for the down payment of 20% down. Planning on hitting the LOC hard the first two years, pay it down (interest only charges), then access the LOC again for the next one. One year in. So far, so good.

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

A Realtor friend had it as a rental property. She had Section 8 tenants who tore it up and were moving out. She told me she wanted out of it and was willing to discount it a bit for the repairs. I figured out the financing, opened a line of credit, did most of the repairs myself and full of doubts, jumped in.

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

Oops, I think I just answered that.

How did you finance this deal?

A combination of a Mortgage company and a line of credit.

How did you add value to the deal?

I painted the whole house myself, changed all knobs locks, hung blinds, did everything with the exception of installing a bathroom vanity top that was cracked (How in the heck you crack a vanity top??)

What was the outcome?

I ran an ad, held an open house. After meeting a few, a really nice couple walked in. They had a small child and seemed serious about life (not party people). I offered the house to them on the spot. They took it. One year in, they're paying $1250. a month and want to sign for another year. It's going well.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I could have gotten a better deal thru a wholesaler, but at the time, I didn't know any. I do now, and about to close my second deal.

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

So far, no.