The $142k House: Full Breakdown
June 22, 2026
People ask us for the “secret deal” all the time. There wasn’t one. Here are the actual numbers on our first rental, start to finish.
What we paid
We bought it for $142,000. It was a three-bed, one-bath in a working-class neighborhood — nothing special, which is exactly why nobody else was bidding. We put 20% down and financed the rest on a 30-year conventional loan.
What we fixed
We spent about $9,000 getting it rent-ready: paint throughout, new flooring in two rooms, a water heater, and a weekend of our own labor on the yard. We did not gut it. We did not add a kitchen island. We made it clean and functional and stopped there.
What it earns
It rents for $1,395 a month. After the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and a realistic set-aside for repairs and vacancy, it clears about $600 a month in cash flow.
Why it matters
Six hundred dollars a month is not going to change your life this year. But the tenant is paying down the loan, the house tends to appreciate a little, and the rent goes up over time while our mortgage payment doesn’t. That’s three quiet engines running at once on one boring house.
It’s not exciting. It just works.