Getting ready to double my doors!

[Ian Murray]

RERP team, I wanted to thank you for all of the outstanding lessons over the past year. I started my REI journey last November, and I am on my way to closing my second deal (or fourth, depending on how you look at it).

I have spent most of the last decade overseas with the military and always thought it was too hard to invest in real estate given my situation.  After looking for a possible "forever home" for a number of years with no luck, I finally listened to the advice of two close friends and followed my own words -- Hard is authorized!  Within a couple of months, I found my first deal, a 3/2 in Key West, FL, listed for $400K.  I reached out to the owner and found out that she had two more just like it ready for sale but not yet listed.  I reached out to a friend in Key West to get his thoughts, and he and his wife were interested in partnering on the deal.  We closed in December '20 on one and January '21 on the other two. 

Properties:  3 x 3/2 condos - 1072-1095 sq ft

Asking: $1.35 million

Purchase: $1.2 million

Terms: 30% down, 3.0% for 30 years

Rent: $2900, $2950, $3000 per month

Cash Flow: $2400 per month

Current value based on comps: $1.3 million

Moving forward a year, I just put in an offer for a 4-plex in KY for $230K that will cash flow about $800 per month, as is. Following a little rehabbing, it will generate about $1200 per month of cash flow. The first deal doesn't have as high of a CoC ROI as I now look for, but the condos are turning into a great value. I got these deals by leveraging my network of friends in different areas to find good investments. I could not have done it without their help, being that I am currently half a world away (literally) right now. We'll return to the US next year and are already looking at house hacking a multi-family at a our next duty station.

Thanks for all of the great advice!

Ian