Updated over 2 years ago on .
1st 4 unit I bought.
Investment Info:
Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.
Purchase price: $179,000
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $480,000
4 unit built in 1885. Needed ton of work. 150K in renovations over the years.
What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
It was a 4 unit I wanted to live in. I lost my health and needed to find a way to replace my income. I bought four /4 units in 2000.
How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?
I was listed on the MLS. No one wanted it and then the market shifted and it had 7 offers. I was lucky enough to end up with it. I offered full price and kept my fingers crossed. Totally didn't know what I was doing.
How did you finance this deal?
FHA
How did you add value to the deal?
I added Washer dryer in the basement for all to use. I renovated myself on my good days, I also rented to Section 8 tenants and got them to sign up for free weatherization. The state weatherized the building for free and increased rents as a result. I learned a lot.
What was the outcome?
After it was fully renovated I was able to increase rents and able to move out into another property.
Lessons learned? Challenges?
I didn't know what 16" on center meant or what knob and tube wiring was. LOL quite the shock when I went to renovate. I got a lot of education in this property. I also learned over the next 7 years to not own in states that have high property taxes. After 17 years my income was going backwards. Property taxes had increased 600% in 7 years. I sold three properties at that time and moved the money to AZ.
Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?
I was a realtor at the time. I was in the process of getting out of the business so no. Not in VT.