Duplex - 1 year in

[Daniel M.]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $355,000
Cash invested: $111,885

Side-by-side duplex (2 × 2 Bed/1 Bath, 1,344 SF total).

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

I’d just finished Rich Dad Poor Dad and set myself a 90-day goal to buy cash-flowing real estate. This side-by-side duplex fit the bill: separate utilities, solid rental demand in a walkable New England town, and a price point that allowed me to still cash flow after debt service.

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

I browsed Zillow daily and forwarded it to my wife and our buyer’s agent, who had helped us with a personal purchase; she happens to live two doors down from the property. When the seller tried to create an auction atmosphere by “accepting” six offers at once, we countered with current quotes for the required sewer tie-in and electrical repairs, held firm on price, and won a seller credit that covered most of the work.

How did you finance this deal?

We closed with a 75 % LTV investor mortgage—30-year fixed at 7.375%—and brought roughly $112 k to cover the down payment, closing costs, and an immediate repair reserve.

How did you add value to the deal?

We decommissioned the failed septic system, connected it to the city sewer, replaced unsafe exterior breaker panels, and utilized Connecticut’s Home Energy Solutions program to seal drafts and reduce tenant utility bills.

What was the outcome?

The day-one cash flow was negative because one unit remained vacant. After we filled that unit and completed the initial repairs, we generated a cash flow of about $12 per month. Following the latest lease renewals—both tenants staying at market rents—we now clear roughly $100 per month, enjoy zero vacancy, and own a fully code-compliant building that runs with far fewer headaches.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The down payment is only the opening bid—infrastructure fixes can arise quickly, so lining up contractors early, maintaining healthy reserves, and resisting seller pressure to distort our numbers were crucial.

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

Our buyer’s agent (who also lives on the street) steered the negotiation, a local community bank handled the investor loan smoothly, and Connecticut’s Home Energy Solutions program proved an inexpensive way to tighten up an old building.