How I Made $225,000 on a $177,000 House—Without Banks, Credit, or Losing My Mind (Mostly)
By Zach Beach | SmartRealEstateCoach.com
Look—I know what you’re probably thinking: “Wait. $225K profit? From a house you didn’t even own outright? No way. What’s the catch?”
Yeah, I’d be side eyeing this too if I hadn’t lived it. But I did. And here’s the crazy part, we’ve done deals like this so many times it almost feels—dare I say—normal. (I know, wild.)
See, when you buy real estate on TERMS—no cash, no credit—it’s like playing Monopoly with cheat codes. You’re not just buying a house. You’re crafting a chessboard of possibilities. And this one? Whew. This one zigzagged like a season of “Ozark.”
So, let’s rewind.
It started with a tired house and a more tired owner.
The property was a plain ol’ single-family home, the kind you drive by a thousand times and never think twice about. The seller was an old school guy in his 80’s with no mortgage and had lived there forever. Outlived two wives—was caring for his third. You can’t make this stuff up.
He listed it for $189,900 but couldn’t get traction. No bites. And he was done—emotionally and physically checked out.
That’s where we came in. We said, “How ‘bout we lease it? $850 a month, with $350 going toward the price each month.” Boom—agreement. We've got 48 months to pay him off. Now do the math. If we went full-term, we’d owe him about $173K.
Enter our buyer.
We found a rent-to-own buyer fast—$225,000 sale price on a 36-month term. They were solid: prescreened, with a real path to financing. Down payment? $12K. Monthly payment? $1,276.
And right there, we locked in our three Paydays™:
Payday #1: $12K upfront.
Payday #2: $426/month spread for 36 months = $15,336.
Payday #3: $35,700 backend profit when they cash out.
That’s $63,036 total. On a house we had $10 down on. (Yup, ten bucks.)
And hey, our average on deals like this is over $80K. We crank out 2–4 of these monthly. Plus, another handful with community members across the country. So where does the "$225,000 profit" come in? Buckle up.
Life threw a hurricane. Literally.
Just before the buyer’s 36 months were up, disaster struck—real disaster. Their home country got rocked by a hurricane. Dad (who was fronting part of their down payment) took a financial hit and couldn’t deliver. They came to us—tears in their eyes—asking for more time.
At this point, we had options:
Stick to the contract. They’d lose the house and their deposit. We could resell at or above $225K. Cold, but fair.
Extend the term with the seller. (Fun fact: we already had 12 more months baked in—the buyer didn’t know that.)
Get creative. Master transaction engineer style.
Guess what we chose?
We flipped the script—again.
We called the seller. Remember, he’s exhausted, his wife is ill, and the house is just a burden. We offered him owner financing: we’d buy the house outright for the remaining balance—about $177,300. We'd put down $11,000 and give him $810/month (principal only, no interest) for 60 months.
And yes—we borrowed the $11K from a different deal's Payday #3. Why? Because I practice what I preach: never use your own cash.
Now, instead of $350/month credits like before, we’re paying down $810/month in actual principal. That’s a massive equity buildup. The buyer gets an extension (we gave them 48 months). The sellers are happy. We’re happier. At the end of 60 months, we owe the seller around $117,700. The buyer still owes us $213,000 (sale price minus deposit). So, when they finance out, we pocket $95,300. Just from that backend payday. Still following?
Oh, and there’s a bonus lot. Forgot that part.
Yeah, I almost forgot to mention: the property came with a second lot next door. Taxed separately. When we first inked the lease, the seller said, “Eh, just keep paying the taxes and it’s yours.” When we restructured with the buyer, we let them know, “Hey—we’re keeping the lot.” They didn’t care and said they didn’t use the yard anyway.
We’re currently selling the lot for $79,900. Will probably close around $70,000. Add that to our $95K backend profit, $12K initial deposit, and about $49K in monthly spreads? That’s $226,000 total profit. All from one house–that we leased for $10.
Lessons?
Deals evolve. Life happens. You’ve got to be willing to pivot—quickly and smartly. That’s what being a master transaction engineer is about. Not every deal is smooth. But almost every deal can be profitable if you know how to work the levers.
You don’t need money. You don’t need credit. You need skills, structure, and grit.
Want in on this? We teach this step-by-step, from scratch, inside the Master’s Class.
Let’s go get some free houses. Join me May 17th: https://bit.ly/4lMvqIk.