Overview

The Eastside Duplex was the first deal in the Lumivest portfolio and the one that proved the entire system works. Found through a direct mail campaign targeting absentee owners in zip code 43206, Columbus — 200 yellow letters sent over a single weekend. One letter came back. The seller had owned the duplex for 22 years, lived out of state, and had not raised the rents in over a decade. Both units were occupied at $450/month each — less than half of the current market rate for comparable units in the area.

The Numbers

Purchase price: $112,000. Down payment: $22,400 at 20% conventional. Both units were cash flowing at $900/month total at acquisition — well below market. Comparable duplexes in the same zip code were selling between $175,000 and $195,000 at the time, making this a genuine 60-cents-on-the-dollar acquisition.

The Strategy

The BRRRR method — Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. The plan from day one was to acquire below market, force appreciation through renovation, re-rent at market rate, refinance at the new appraised value, and pull the invested capital back out to deploy into the next deal. The rehab scope covered both units: new roof, updated electrical panels, fresh kitchens with new appliances, LVP flooring throughout, fresh paint, and updated bathrooms. Total rehab cost: $28,000. Contractor was sourced through a local investor meetup — locked in before closing to avoid carrying cost delays. Rehab completed in 11 weeks.

The Execution

Both units were re-rented immediately after the rehab completed — $910/month each, $1,820/month total. That is a $920/month improvement over the pre-acquisition rent roll. Property management was brought in at 8% of gross rents. Mortgage, insurance, taxes, and management total $1,180/month. Net cash flow after all expenses: $640/month.

Six months post-rehab, the property was appraised at $187,000. Refinanced at 75% LTV — new loan of $140,250. After paying off the original mortgage balance of approximately $89,600, the refinance returned $41,000 in cash — more than covering the original down payment and leaving the deal in the portfolio with zero meaningful capital still in it.

The Outcome

$640/month passive income. $41,000 returned at refinance. Net capital remaining in the deal after refi: approximately $9,400. Cash-on-cash return: 22.4%. The $41,000 pulled from this deal funded the entire down payment for Deal #02 — the Cleveland Triplex.

The Lesson

Direct mail still works. Most investors have moved entirely online — the mailbox is less crowded than ever. 200 letters cost $180 to send. The return on that $180 was $41,000 cash at refinance and $640/month for the life of the loan. The most important variable was not the marketing channel — it was the follow-up. The seller called back three weeks after the letter arrived. If the phone had not been answered immediately and a meeting scheduled within 48 hours, this deal would not have happened.

What I Would Do Differently

Raise rents before the refinance appraisal, not after. At the time of the appraisal the units had been re-rented for only 60 days. Had I waited another 90 days before ordering the appraisal, the stabilized rent roll would have supported a higher valuation — potentially $200,000+. That timing mistake cost approximately $12,000 in additional equity that could have been pulled at refinance.