One man's trash is my treasure!

One man's trash is my treasure!

Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

I bought my very first hoarder house. It's a single-family in a "B" neighborhood that was occupied by hoarders. Let the tale begin!

This is a single-family with 856 square feet on the main floor and a full basement that is partially finished. The street is just one block long so there's no real through-traffic. The property is four houses away from a nice elementary school and just a few blocks from downtown.

My Ninja REALTOR skills value it at $150 - $170,000 after repairs. I snatched it for $57,000! I am putting about $10,000 into it immediately, along with a lot of blood, sweat and tears (more on that later). I manage 200+ rentals in the area and expect this one to rent for $900 a month.

The house is solid and dry. Old roof but no leaks. Filthy walls but no holes, cracks, or large dents. The carpet is filthy and probably 40+ years old but there is hardwood underneath. I found two broken window panes but all the windows operate and the storm windows and screens are in place. The appliances are disgustingly filthy but everything functions. Kitchen cabinets are filthy but are solid wood and can be recovered until we replace them in a year or two. The bathroom...let's just say I could lock 20 cats in there for a week and not notice the difference. The property is full of trash and neglected landscaping but it's a nice size, full fenced back yard, room for parking vehicles or toys, and surrounded by nice homes on both sides of the street. This is the pig of the neighborhood which only increases the value!

But you didn't come here for chit-chat; you want pictures! Let the show begin!

This is the front view. Not too shabby!

This is the living room. Again, not much to complain about so far. This picture was literally the first time I stepped foot in the house. I thought, "This isn't too bad!"

Bedroom #1. Things are starting to get worse.

Bedroom #2. Most hoarders seem to be elderly. This was actually a family with teenagers.

This is the dining room.

My personal favorite: the kitchen! I couldn't even see the floor because it was covered with trash and food. Can you believe people actually prepared food and ate in here?

I opened the fridge and food literally fell onto the floor. It was stuffed so full that the airflow was cut off and the fridge was almost room temperature. It did NOT smell like money.

The clothing was piled so thick in the basement that I had to duck to walk around.

It's plumbed for a bath but was being used as a work shop or something. And I get a funny feeling it may have doubled as storage space, but I'm not sure. ;)

Just a small sample of the cobwebs. It's like Spider-Man exploded in here.

A small sampling of the back yard.

I've seen worse hoarder houses but keep in mind, the occupants had already moved out.

What does a hoarder house smell like? MONEY!!! This deal was ripe for the picking with a guarantee of strong cash-flow, immediate equity, and a great ROI. I actually made an offer on it in January but it was rejected. I made the same offer again a month later and they accepted. I was so excited!

We've owned it for one week now and are starting the process of cleaning. I'll post follow-ups as we progress. I am already running into some "issues" and hope to learn from some fellow investors that have renovated a hoarder house in the past.

Thanks for reading!

The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
8Reply
208 views

Most Popular Reply

Charles A.Pro Member
Rental Property Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 208 posts · 282 votes
10y

My penultimate rehab was a super-hoarder house.

The poor man's remains was removed by the health department covered in like a million dragon flies.

He'd been dead for weeks.

The house is one of my cleanest now and the new tenant wrote me a letter after signing the lease that she didn't  ever plan to move out.

I hope she doesn't plan on dying there too...

That would be too much for one landlord.

See this reply in the discussion

40 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Investor · Valparaiso, IN · Member since 2015 · 84 posts · 47 votes
    9y

    Awesome thread and transformation!

    I am far from a seasoned pro in Real Estate.  However, I don't understand the rental strategy.  You are making a very small return - Unless, of course I am missing something and I can surely be educated.....

    Your gross income is $8,400 / year.  (Incorrectly) assuming ZERO taxes and ZERO insurance and ZERO repairs and ZERO capital repairs, your BEST CASE return on capital is 6%.

    This is given your stated $145-155K value.  Let's say you can clear $140,000 cash.  Excepting for 1031 or however you choose to reinvest the $140K, that is 8400/140000 = 6%.

    Again, this is just hot I see it, anyone please feel free to "wake me up."

  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    9y

    First, let's look at the numbers:

    Purchase price: $57,000

    Renovations: $15,000

    Actual cash invested: $23,000

    Monthly cash flow: $358

    Cash-on-cash return: 18.8%

    Annualized return (year 1): 397%

    This is not a bad deal. It's a good deal that could be even better if I rented it at market rate or if I cashed out and found a better-performing deal. I choose not to do that because 18% cash-on-cash is a strong return, it meets my goals, I'm helping a friend, and I have another major purchase lined up and don't need the money to make it happen. In June I will have a year of ownership and estimate I can cash out $75,000 in equity for a BRRR strategy.

    You can talk to experts around the country and get different answers about what is "best" as an investment. You can use various "rules of thumb" or calculators. In the end, what constitutes a good investment depends on your local market and your personal goals.

    Holding this home as a long-term rental is a good investment for me. It will be better in the future. It can be even better in the future. It meets my goals. Your mileage may vary.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
  • Austin, TX · Member since 2017 · 30 posts · 26 votes
    9y

    @Nathan Gesner

    I was laughing so hard even before I got to the picture. Oh, I know I am going to enjoy this! Thanks a lot for sharing.

  • Casper, WY · Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    6y

    @Nathan Gesner I know this is an older post now but thank you for sharing. Very interesting to see you go through the stages and clean the property up.

    Do you still own it today?

  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    6y

    Yes, in fact I just had it appraised last week for $187,000.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
  • Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 164 posts · 107 votes
    6y

    @Nathan Gesner - awesome thread, definitely an interesting project :) Good to see it worked out for you and the good appraisal!

  • Investor · Australia · Member since 2019 · 68 posts · 22 votes
    6y

    @Nathan G.

    Great post and congrats on the recent appraisal.

    Would you mind telling us how you found this property?

  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Dave H.:

    Great post and congrats on the recent appraisal.

    Would you mind telling us how you found this property?

    I think it's explained somewhere in a previous post. I kept telling people I was in the market and a friend/REALTOR approached me with the deal. The owners were too embarrassed and didn't want it on the market so she told them I could buy it "as is" without any marketing. It pays to let people know what you are looking for!

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
  • Investor · Australia · Member since 2019 · 68 posts · 22 votes
    6y

    @Nathan Gesner That’s great, silly question; did you specify you wanted a hoarder house or just the usual sqft, location, profit etc.

  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    6y

    I was telling people I was in the market for a fixer-upper or inexpensive rental, off-market and at least 20% below market value. I wasn't specifically looking for a hoarder house but I knew what they were and had read a lot about how to deal with them so it immediately smelled like money!

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
  • Investor · Australia · Member since 2019 · 68 posts · 22 votes
    6y

    @Nathan Gesner Nice, you have a good agent.

  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Dave H.:

    @Nathan Gesner Nice, you have a good agent.

    No, I am an agent. I was spreading the word to other agents, friends, and relatives. It happened to be another agent that I go to church with that brought me the deal.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
  • Broker / Investor · Tewksbury, MA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 351 votes
    6y

    hoarders are a real estate investors best friend

  • Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2022 · 32 posts · 18 votes
    4y

    Great work!  Love the progress and the success of taking an overwhelming task and focusing on one step at a time.  

  • Member since 2021 · 14 posts · 4 votes
    3y

    How come I don't see any of the pictures ?

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.