How 2015 Ended Up for Me

[Ehab Shoukry]

Hi all -

I thought I would put a quick update out there on how 2015 ended up for me.  This was my first year really investing in real estate.  I have another posted which talks about how I purchased 8 rental properties in just four months.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/22...

I ended the year buying 9 rental houses and a multi-family building.  I have a total of 17 units and I'm looking to get to 40 units in 2016.  I purchased all of my properties through a local bank putting 20% down.  The purchase price on my houses were all in the low to mid $50k's and they rent for around $1k a month.

I know there are mixed views on this cheaper priced homes but they have worked out well for me. I've had normal maintenance issues but I've decided I'm going to make my houses as maintenance-free as possible. This year I'm replacing all of the galvanized plumbing in my houses with Uponor Pex plumbing to avoid issues with water leaks and improve water pressure. Total cost for a 3/1 SFH is $1600 with two year warranty. I think this is well worth the cost.

I'm also one-by-one converting my houses from window AC/Heat units to Central HVAC.  Total price is $3,900 for a 3 ton unit with copper, furnace, compressor, ductwork and everything and 10 year warranty.  

And best of all, I talked with my banker and we are planning on refinancing all of my SFH's so I can get my initial investment back and he is extending my ammortization from 15 to 20 years so my total monthly payment will stay the same. BRRRRR

The end result...

1. updated low maintenance rentals

2. stand out from the competition because of the central HVAC 

3. no money out of pocket

Overall happy with how my first year turned out.

Best of luck!

Ehab