First complete BRRR

[Kedric Naylor]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $115,000
Cash invested: $135,000

SFH first gut renovation. First Successful BRRR. HELOC on primary used for funding.

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

Real estate rookie podcast.

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

I found this deal off market. Word of mouth. Worked her for 6 months or so.

How did you finance this deal?

HELOC in to a cashout refinance.

How did you add value to the deal?

Full gut reno. Forced equity to all major system upgrades. Electric, plumbing, roof, siding, HWH, HVAC, driveway, privacy fence

What was the outcome?

complete BRRR. Renter in place at $2300 a month. We walked away with 3k. It would have been more if we held our GC to the contract

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Permits first. Confirm Licenses are up to date and valid. Follow payment schedule. No matter how hard they push, hold final payment until final systems check

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

Total Quality Lending did a great job with the cashout refi

[Denise Webster]

Congrats @Kedric Naylor! That is a strong first complete BRRR, especially considering it involved a gut renovation, HELOC funding, tenant placement, and a cash-out refinance exit.

This is a realistic BRRR outcome. Not every deal returns all capital plus a large cash-out check, but a deal that stabilizes, cash flows, builds equity, and teaches repeatable lessons is absolutely a win.

Add to that your self-management, and keeping the listing "in the family" is awesome. A lot of investors only look at the front-end numbers, but operations and tax strategy can materially change the long-term return.

For the next one, I would probably focus on turning this experience into a repeatable checklist:

1. Confirm permit requirements before work begins.

2. Verify contractor license, insurance, and references.

3. Tie payments to completed work, not promises.

4. Hold final payment until final inspection and systems check.

5. Line up the tenant before or during the refinance process when possible.

6. Underwrite the refinance with closing costs included, not just loan payoff.

7. Keep a conservative reserve even when the deal appears to be complete.

The HELOC strategy can work well, but because it ties personal-residence equity to project risk, the tighter the process becomes, the safer it gets.

Great job completing the full cycle! This is the kind of first BRRR that gives you more than just a property, it gives you a repeatable system to improve for the next one.