Scored My First Rental Contract

[Tom Giles]

I moved from Panama City, FL to College Station, TX 3 years ago for an employment opportunity that placed me almost geographically centered between kids and grandkids. I rented for the first year and stumbled across a HUD Repo while looking for a more suitable place to rent. The SFH was built in 07 in a still growing subdivision but was a disaster zone. I bid the asking price that was roughly 25% below comps in the same subdivision. My initial motivation for the purchase was to lower my housing cost from $1000 per month to $550 per month, spend my monthly housing savings for rehab then sell it after two years when it was time to retire. I ended up spending about twice the planned amount for rehab. I also decided not to sell but instead rent to through a property manager. My property manager listed it week before last and had it contracted is less than a week for a 1 June move in date. I will retire and move back to Panama City the end of May. I have $35K cash invested and under the 50% rule, I will receive $400 per month in passive income.