The deal I stubbled into

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $265,000
Cash invested: $60,000
Sale price: $375,000

This was my first-ever real estate investment. I purchased the SFH in late 2005 to fix and flip, like so many were doing back then. Funding was plenty, and everyone was making bank. The fix took about 4 months, and in that time, the market became soft. I ended up holding the property and leasing it to tents for 15 years. Unintentionally, I learned about the benefits of appreciation, depreciation, equity, and cash flow.

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

I had made a little cash and wanted to invest it in real estate.

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

A real estate agent friend brought me the deal.

How did you finance this deal?

traditional loan

How did you add value to the deal?

A large initial investment to rehab.

What was the outcome?

By pivoting strategies (out of necessity), I was able to claim 15 years of depreciation and other tax benefits, build equity, generate positive cash flow, and sell for an appreciated value.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray. Recouping the investment took many years.

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

Realtor Zane Radwan helped me make lemonade from lemons.