My First BRRRR! With Pictures!

My First BRRRR! With Pictures!

Investor · Anchorage, AK · Member since 2016 · 222 posts · 294 votes

I have completed my first BRRRR successfully! It is a 2Br 1 Ba small SFR (Pictures Below). It took me about 4 months to complete this Rehab in from start to finish. I Hired out Most of the Big items : New roof, driveway, furnace, siding, and fence. I performed ALL other work by myself with occasional help from Family members: Complete Electrical Revamp (New wires, Panel, Meter Base, outlets, etc), New Pex plumbing, Shed revamp, Landscaping, Windows, flooring..and basically everything else. I did all of this while working full-time at my day job, and going to this house everyday after work for 2-3 hours and working on Saturdays and Sundays. I have learned so much and I now know that I never want to do most of the work again. I only want to perform the work that I am excellent and efficient at, and that is basically the electrical stuff only LOL. I'm good at everything...just not efficient. I am so glad I was conservative with my numbers at first, because There were a bunch of things that I did not know I would have to fix/replace. But since I was super conservative, it worked out great.

I funded this deal using a HELOC from my parents house, because I made a deal with my father that I would completely renovate his kitchen for free labor on the entire thing, if he would setup the HELOC for me to use. He was so happy with his kitchen that he set up the HELOC with no more questions asked. I completed his kitchen a year ago, and this HELOC had been setup for me to use for over a year now.

I found this deal because I heard an elderly lady passed away down my street, and heard that her relatives (the executor of the estate) were staying there. So I went over to the house and knocked on the door and spoke with them. I asked if they would sell to me and told them my intentions for the house. We really got along great and they decided to sell me the house. This house hadn't had any maintenance on it since the 80's, and was in complete disrepair (the before pics don't do justice). On top of that, the lady that had passed away was a chain smoker, and the place stunk sooo bad.

Here are my numbers:

Purchase and closing costs: $102,000

Rehab and Holding Costs: $53,000

Refinancing costs: $8000

ARV: $230,000

Total Equity in the end: $67,000 +/-

I have not found a renter yet, as it is winter and I just finished 2 days ago :) But even on my low end rent estimate I should cash-flow $100/mo+, and my high end $400/mo. Below are the before and after pictures. I used the same view as the before pictures, I did remove a wall between the kitchen and LR, FYI.

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Investor · Roseville, CA · Member since 2016 · 893 posts · 1k+ votes
7y

Great job @Cam Jimmy!  I think my favorite part of your story is the creative solution to raise your capital with your father.  Way to think out of the box to get to your goal!  

Just curious, how did you go about negotiating the purchase price?  

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  • Real Estate Agent · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2016 · 589 posts · 275 votes
    7y

    @Cam Jimmy excellent fix on the rehab. Looks really great.

  • Brooklyn · Member since 2018 · 6 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    Jimmy, 

    Congratulations! Very inspirational. You are creative, determined, and a hard worker... you got  it!! Can't wait to see what else you do. I want to also do a brrrr. This is helping me a lot.

    Thank you, and good luck with your kid. I have two (teens now). It is the best thing in the world.

  • Rental Property Investor · Allentown PA, United States · Member since 2016 · 567 posts · 442 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Cam Jimmy:

    Wow, Thanks everyone!

    @Brian Dennis I paid labor costs on big ticket items listed in my original post only. If I was to guess the amount of labor I would have paid for what I did..I'd say $20,000 more. In that case, flipping would have been the way to go with this one instead of the BRRRR

    @Lien Vuong Thank you.. and Excellent LLC name By the way :)

    @Rafael Zavala Definetly Man, Keep thinking of the end game!

    @Bill Goodland I hear you man... If I was to sell at appraisal amount, I'd have to pay $20k just to realtors and closing costs. and on top of that, I'd have to pay taxes on the 47K in profit after that. Since my wife and I work full-time I'm sure we would have to pay a crap ton in taxes.  I'd rather rent the place out for a year and 1031 exchange this house into a fixer upper duplex/tri/4-plex. This is my reasoning for renting...at least for now. However ive been brainstorming this for the last week or so. There are just so many paths I can go with this. Thank you for the feed back. Much appreciated.

    @Alvin L. Thank you. I went through an apprenticeship and was around other trades. picking peoples brains, and Youtube. Also trial and error lol. Yes it is very rewarding...but very hard work.

    That makes a lot of sense man. I actually like that strategy a lot of BRRRRing an SFR because rehab upgrades add so much value, however when you do that you build so much equity that rent to value may not be there anymore. But if you can 1031 that equity a year or two later into a higher return you get the best of both worlds.

    Just curious, since you rehabbed everything to begin with, did you seem to notice that the upgrades finishes weren’t even that much considering how much value they add? I know it’s a controversial topic and wondering your take from the experience.

  • Rental Property Investor · FL · Member since 2016 · 271 posts · 92 votes
    7y

    Congrats! You put Repairs and Holding cost together, would you be kind to split it up and share how much was just the repairs, and how much if any you had to sub.

    Thank you

  • Realtor · Lehigh Valley, PA · Member since 2016 · 26 posts · 7 votes
    7y
    @Cam Jimmy so awesome congrats keep it rolling
  • Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2018 · 42 posts · 9 votes
    7y
    @Cam Jimmy awesome work
  • Severna Park, MD · Member since 2017 · 44 posts · 29 votes
    7y
    @Cam Jimmy This looks really great. Did you consider, maybe having more counter and cabinet space in the kitchen, where you took out the wall? Maybe it’s the pictures, but it looks like you have no practical prepping space the way the kitchen is laid out.
  • Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2018 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    7y
    @Cam Jimmy
  • Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2018 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    7y
    Amazing job!!!
  • Specialist · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    @Cam Jimmy wow! amazing job and great story.
  • Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    Fantastic job! very inspirational!

  • Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    @Cam Jimmy great job! Congratulations!!! Can you send me the exact address I might rent it.
  • Flipper/Rehabber · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2018 · 95 posts · 65 votes
    7y

    @Cam Jimmy It looks great and you did a great job! I love seeing these posts they are my favorite. But can I ask why if you intended for this to be a rental you put such high-end finishes on everything?  It looks great and I would be drawn to renting it because of how good it looks. But doesn't that cut into your CAPX? I have never done a deal so I am just curious. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Davenport, FL · Member since 2016 · 593 posts · 382 votes
    7y

    @Cam Jimmy

    Nice! Way to go for it.

  • San Pedro, CA · Member since 2018 · 9 posts · 8 votes
    7y
    @Cam Jimmy Congratulations on your 1st BRRRR! It looks beautiful, you should be proud!
  • Rental Property Investor · Greeneville, TN · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Looks great!!! Totally transformed home. I'd want to live in it now. I'm impressed at how much ya'll got accomplished in that time frame. And congrats on the upcoming addition to your family, your life will change A LOT!!! Thank you for putting in the time to document your BRRR for the rest of us as well.

  • Investor · Eugene, OR · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 35 votes
    7y

    That is a great story and an awesome job!

  • Real Estate Agent · Minneapolis · Member since 2018 · 39 posts · 28 votes
    7y
    @Cam Jimmy looks gorgeous! You absolutely killed this. Great job! Did you have the bank REFI lined up before you purchased the home or did you find a bank during the rehab process or did you wait until after you were finished with the rehab? I’ve always wondered when BRRRR investors get that refi lined up because it’s a scary prospect being left with a higher interest loan for an extended period due to difficulty in finding a bank to refi you out.
  • Rental Property Investor · Union, KY · Member since 2018 · 33 posts · 22 votes
    7y

    Thanks for sharing Cam! Nice job on the reno. The house looks great. I also like how you disclosed how you funded the deal with the HELOC and the business savviness you had with your Father to secure it. I just closed on a 2-unit myself that I plan on doing my first BRRRR on so I truly appreciate you sharing this.

  • Property Manager · Costa Mesa, CA · Member since 2012 · 23 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    That's amazing!  Congratulations! 

  • Blake ElderBusiness Member
    Professional · Wasilla, AK · Member since 2014 · 35 posts · 16 votes
    7y

    Way to go! This looks great! All refinanced now into a 15 or 30 year loan?

    RMG Real Estate4.940 Reviews
  • Rental Property Investor · Delaware, USA · Member since 2018 · 43 posts · 48 votes
    7y

    @Cam Jimmy it looks so much better than what I was expecting.  You should be super proud and super confident for the next one.  What an incredible transformation.  Inside and out.  Excellent work man.  I can't wait to be sharing a story like this.  I just put an offer on two different properties yesterday.  Congrats on everything man.  

    Question - How long did it take from start to refinance?  I've heard that some places want you to have the house for 6-12 months in order to refi.  I'm hoping that doesn't apply if you paid cash.

    Thanks!

    Kevin

  • Detroit · Member since 2018 · 27 posts · 19 votes
    7y

    Great transformation!

  • Rental Property Investor · Excelsior, MN · Member since 2018 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    Wow great job!  And congratulations!!

  • Member since 2018 · 21 posts · 9 votes
    7y

    Looks great, congrats & congrats on the baby on the way!

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