All Forum Posts by: Justin Denfeld

Melissa,

Thank you very much for these recommendations.  I will look into them and if I find a "rent by the room" property manager, I will be sure to post it here for everyone's benefit.

Thanks, Nathan.  I am also considering offering it as a midterm rental.  The area of town wouldn't be ideal for a short term rental or else I would potentially go that route.  I too have heard about these rent by the room property managers but haven't found one yet...

I've partnered with a builder to develop a condo complex in Portland, OR (Multnomah County) which will be completed in November, 2023.  My portion of the deal is yielding me one of the condos which I'd like to keep as a rental.  With current interest rates, it won't cash flow as a traditional rental so I'm looking to rent it by the room to increase revenue.  However, I don't want to self-manage.  Are there any property management companies that will rent by the room in Portland, OR?  Thanks!

I just spoke to PenFed and they stopped doing them in November, 2022.  They said they "may resume them in 2025 when the market stabilizes".

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $310,000
Cash invested: $150,000
Sale price: $500,000

We acquired an off market 880 SF hoarders drug house built in 1926 with an unfinished basement and did a $150K renovation where we replaced EVERYTHING in addition to adding 750 SF by finishing the basement. The project included adding a master bedroom, walk in closet, full bathroom, laundry room, and tech space. It was a big project to start my investment career. However, the good thing about starting with a huge renovation is that most projects in the future will seem "small" in comparison.

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

I consider myself a BRRRR investor but have never done a BRRRR yet. First, I need cash to sink into a BRRRR so I started out flipping a house to generate my BRRRR funds.

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

I took Brandon Turner's advice of making a post on my Facebook page. Low and behold, my childhood best friend's Mom had a relative's dumpy property that they needed to sell.

Our negotiations were very nube-like. The seller told us what they thought they could get from a realtor selling the house, we subtracted what the real estate commissions would have been and put the house under contract. After inspections, we negotiated another $10K off for having to replace the knob and tube.

How did you finance this deal?

My partner and I used our HELOCs for the purchase and all renovations.

How did you add value to the deal?

We finished off the unfinished basement to add an additional 750 SF. We also did as much work as we could ourselves. This was a blessing and a curse at the same time. We learned a lot, saved a little, but stalled the project.

What was the outcome?

We sold the property on the first day for over asking price, and made $40K.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hire competent contractors and don't pay them ahead of time. Fire them immediately & move on if they aren't meeting your expectations. They are who they are and will never get better or become more reliable. You get what you pay for.

Do your own work only if you are good at it, enjoy it, or want to learn the trait. I'm glad I did some work because I have an idea of what it takes but I will never do it again.

Not all realtors are created equal. Don't trust them, do your own numbers.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $310,000
Cash invested: $150,000
Sale price: $500,000

We acquired an off market 880 SF hoarders drug house built in 1926 with an unfinished basement and did a $150K renovation where we replaced EVERYTHING in addition to adding 750 SF by finishing the basement. The project included adding a master bedroom, walk in closet, full bathroom, laundry room, and tech space. It was a big project to start my investment career. However, the good thing about starting with a huge renovation is that most projects in the future will seem "small" in comparison.

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

I consider myself a BRRRR investor but have never done a BRRRR yet. First, I need cash to sink into a BRRRR so I started out flipping a house to generate my BRRRR funds.

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

I took Brandon Turner's advice of making a post on my Facebook page. Low and behold, my childhood best friend's Mom had a relative's dumpy property that they needed to sell.

Our negotiations were very nube-like. The seller told us what they thought they could get from a realtor selling the house, we subtracted what the real estate commissions would have been and put the house under contract. After inspections, we negotiated another $10K off for having to replace the knob and tube.

How did you finance this deal?

My partner and I used our HELOCs for the purchase and all renovations.

How did you add value to the deal?

We finished off the unfinished basement to add an additional 750 SF. We also did as much work as we could ourselves. This was a blessing and a curse at the same time. We learned a lot, saved a little, but stalled the project.

What was the outcome?

We sold the property on the first day for over asking price, and made $40K.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hire competent contractors and don't pay them ahead of time. Fire them immediately & move on if they aren't meeting your expectations. They are who they are and will never get better or become more reliable. You get what you pay for.

Do your own work only if you are good at it, enjoy it, or want to learn the trait. I'm glad I did some work because I have an idea of what it takes now but I will never do it again.

Not all realtors are created equal. Don't trust them, do your own numbers.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $310,000
Cash invested: $150,000
Sale price: $500,000

We acquired an off market 880 SF hoarders drug house built in 1926 with an unfinished basement and did a $150K renovation where we replaced EVERYTHING in addition to adding 750 SF by finishing the basement. The project included adding a master bedroom, walk in closet, full bathroom, laundry room, and tech space. It was a big project to start my investment career. However, the good thing about starting with a huge renovation is that most projects in the future will seem "small" in comparison.

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

I consider myself a BRRRR investor but have never done a BRRRR yet. First, I need cash to sink into a BRRRR so I started out flipping a house to generate my BRRRR funds.

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

I took Brandon Turner's advice of making a post on my Facebook page. Low and behold, my childhood best friend's Mom had a relative's dumpy property that they needed to sell.

Our negotiations were very nube-like. The seller told us what they thought they could get from a realtor selling the house, we subtracted what the real estate commissions would have been and put the house under contract. After inspections, we negotiated another $10K off for having to replace the knob and tube electrical.

How did you finance this deal?

My partner and I used our HELOCs for the purchase and all renovations.

How did you add value to the deal?

We finished off the unfinished basement to add an additional 750 SF. We also did as much work as we could ourselves. This was a blessing and a curse at the same time. We learned a lot, saved a little, but stalled the project.

What was the outcome?

We sold the property on the first day for over asking price, and made $40K.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hire competent contractors and don't pay them ahead of time. Fire them immediately & move on if they aren't meeting your expectations. They are who they are and will never get better or become more reliable. You get what you pay for.

Do your own work only if you are good at it, enjoy it, or want to learn the trait. I'm glad I did some work because I have an idea of what it takes now but I will never do it again.

Not all realtors are created equal. Don't trust them, do your own numbers.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $310,000
Cash invested: $150,000
Sale price: $500,000

We acquired an off market 880 SF hoarders drug house built in 1926 with an unfinished basement and did a $150K renovation in which we had to replace EVERYTHING in addition to adding 750 SF by finishing the basement. The project included adding a master bedroom, walk in closet, bathroom, laundry room, and tech space. It was a big project to start my investment career. However, the good thing about starting with a huge renovation is that most projects in the future will seem "small" in comparison. My partner and I split a profit of $40K which was icing on the cake of how much value we gained in knowledge during the project.

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

I consider myself a BRRRR investor but have never done a BRRRR yet. First, I need cash to sink into a BRRRR so I started out flipping a house to generate my BRRRR funds.

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

I took Brandon Turner's advice of making a post on my Facebook page. Low and behold, my childhood best friend's Mom had a relative's dumpy property that they needed to sell.

Our negotiations were very nube-like. The seller told us what they thought they could get from a realtor selling the house, we subtracted what the real estate commissions would have been and put the house under contract. After inspections, we negotiated another $10K off for replacing the knob and tube electrical.

How did you finance this deal?

My partner and i used our HELOCs for the purchase and all renovations.

How did you add value to the deal?

We finished off the unfinished basement to add an additional 750 SF. We also did as much work as we could ourselves. This was a blessing and a curse at the same time. We learned a lot but stalled the project.

What was the outcome?

We sold the property on the first day for over asking price, and made $40K.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hire competent contractors and don't pay them ahead of time. Fire them immediately & move on if they aren't meeting your expectations. They are who they are and will never get better or become more reliable. You get what you pay for.

Do your own work only if you are good at it, enjoy it, or want to learn the trait. I'm glad I did some work because I have an idea of what it takes now but I will never do it again.

Not all realtors are created equal. Don't trust them, do your own numbers.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $343,000
Cash invested: $68,600

House Hack that I kept and rented out after I moved.

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

I was single, with money for a down payment, and needed a place to live. I made a pack with myself to never pay rent in my life so the idea of buying a house and renting the rooms out to my friends was the obvious financial decision.

Once I outgrew the house, I knew I wanted to keep it and rent it out. Having put 20% down for the initial purchase, it was easy to make it cash flow. Prior to moving out, I took out a HELOC on it which funded my next real estate investment.

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

It was new construction listed on the MLS. Since I was a newbie, I purchased it brand new with no negotiations, outside of having the builder include higher-end finishes for free.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional owner occupied bank loan. 20% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Holding it for 5 years, I achieved $150,000 in appreciation. Got lucky with the timing of the market.

What was the outcome?

I still hold this rental and continue to use the HELOC for funding other real estate projects.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The best time to buy real estate was yesterday.

Hey @Jesse Rivera, please add me to your list.  Happy Holidays, thanks!