All Forum Posts by: Tara Kneiser

Thank you, Andrew!

Just wanted to provide an update: after 3 days on the market we accepted a full price offer of $139,900, and we are paying 3% of closing costs (appr. $4k) as well as offering a 1 year home warranty.

Thanks for the tip! We know it doesn't look great, but we're going to leave that as a potential negotiating point. There's very low inventory in this area right now, and other homes in this price range are in much worse shape. Our realtor is very optimistic. We'll wait and see what feedback we get from showings and what the home inspection says.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $74,100

Cash invested: $18,500

3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1200 sq foot single family home near top rated elementary school.

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

I drove by this house every day on the way to my kids' elementary school. An older woman lived there, who was a crossing guard and ran a licensed day care out of the home. I knew with it being a licensed day care it had to be in decent shape. Also, it's a one minute walk to the elementary school across the street, which is one of the best in town. The neighborhood has older ranchers, but all well maintained.

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

I drove by and noticed that the house was vacant and there was a note taped in the window (sign of foreclosure). I did a search for the property and it wasn't on the MLS, but was going to be auctioned online. I knew that the home was a licensed daycare so per state regulation it couldn't have been in too terrible shape. I won the online auction.

How did you finance this deal?

Purchased with a HELOC loan on my personal residence. My grandmother passed leaving my mother some cash, and she invested $45k of that cash into the home. Used personal credit card and remainder of HELOC loan for rehab costs.

How did you add value to the deal?

We completely gutted the kitchen and bath down to the studs, revealing an old slow water leak. Fixed plumbing and replaced rotted subfloor. We added a tile surround and flooring in the bathroom with modern fixtures. We installed all new cabinets and brand new stainless appliances in the kitchen.

What was the outcome?

It's going on the market today, I will update with sale. However, the neighbor came over and praised us for fixing up the house and was very impressed with how it looked. He grew up across the street and said it's the best it's ever looked. 2 more people pulled up and asked about the property as we were photographing it for the listing. Market is really good right now, and our realtor is very optimistic.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Honestly, unless the house doesn't sell or home inspection shows something we missed, this was a great investment. No major surprises or anything that set us back or required major work.

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

Kristin Choate

What banks? Have you tried going to ORNLFCU?

Also, Mortgage Investor's group? We needed special financing when we bought our first house in Oak Ridge. It was a HUD foreclosure, and we were able to get an FHA loan for it, as we lived in it as well. We worked with Norma Sheldon:

https://migonline.com/profile/normasheldon

@Brian, hey!  How are the duplex rental going? Have you found you have good renters? My husband often runs on West Outer near Illinois. Houses sell for around $20k in that neighborhood, and they're all rentals. We're just concerned with how well the renters would be. However, we know we could get renters. When we took our last house off the market and decided to rent, we had to turn away a lot of people, which shows that there is definitely a market for renters who will pay $900/mo or more. 

We have definitely hit pause on purchasing any more homes. We just closed on our current house (where we live) in October and it needs a massive reno. We love renovations, but we do them for cash, and ourselves if we can avoid hiring a contractor. One of our rentals will be completely paid off in a year or two. Once that happens, we may consider purchasing another, but we can only handle one renovation at a time.

The great thing about Oak Ridge is that there is no shortage of homes that need work. I live here and my kids go to school here. I'd love to see the neighborhoods be brought back to life, rather than just expanding HOAs and subdivisions (no offense to those who live there in places like that, I would just like to see things get cleaned up rather than torn down.)

Hi  Colette! It has been a while since I be posted here! Well, since I started this thread, we left our last home. We attempted to sell, but it was a hard sell (very small yard, 1 bathroom). We are renting it out, and so far, the renters are great.

We actually purchased a home in October that is a massive Reno job (still in oak ridge). We scored almost 5 acres.  

In oak ridge, the rental market is prime. Sales, not so much. Buyers are very picky it seems. But, we now have 2 rentals in town. Our first rental has had the same tenant since January of 2012, and the new tenant said she never wants to leave, which I'm totally cool with! 

But there are a ton of homes in decent neighborhoods that could use a little TLC that would make great rentals. 

@John M. 

@James Wise

Thanks so much!  Still sifting through as much info as I can here.

Thanks Brandon! 

Thanks Michelle!

Hi William.  

Oak Ridge is an odd town, but great for renting/flipping as almost the entire town was built during the WWII and the majority of the homes selling have only had 1 owner.

The house next to ours (not our rental) is a 3 bed/1 bath, appr. 1100 sq foot renting for $850.  It's not a very great house, but it's never been vacant as long as we've lived here.  The current tenant who just moved in moved from Maryville. She said the houses in Maryville are renting for $1000/mo or more.  

I'm a little naive as to what is considered cheap rent or reasonable rent.  We rent out our rental house for $500/mo, but it's 700 sq. ft, and the tenant is my husband's sister (a single mom.  We bought the house to help her out, but have realized the potential in rentals).   We realize we could get at least $650 or more for her house, but because our loan payment is only $212 on her house, we're okay with the profit.  

I'll definitely let you know if I find some deals! Is there a private message function here?