My First Deal - Comments/Suggestions/Advice

[Chase Ross]

Hello everyone,

I'm Chase Ross, I'm a senior at the Naval Academy and will be commissioning into the Marine Corps this May. I've been involved with real estate since last fall, gaining as much knowledge as I could. They always say share what you're doing so here it goes.

I definitely am a huge fan of house hacking, however since I won't be able to have a place of my own for at least a year and a half from now due to training, and I wanted to get started investing, I bought my first duplex rental in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it's second largest city. I am originally from Michigan. I have already coordinated with a property manager with great numbers and whom I trust. The duplex is currently vacant and needs minor repairs, new water heater (which seller concessions are now covering), and possibly new furnaces in the near future (they run fine now but they are old).

Due to fairly high competition for the property, I had to end up paying full price, however the numbers still worked with a return I was comfortable with for my first deal, a little over 9%. Currently still in the closing process, inspection was finished, and closing date is scheduled for 9 February. Right now I am still deciding between two lenders, a local lender who has been in the area for years, and Quicken Loans. I was originally preapproved with USAA but their rates raised above 5%, which was cutting into my cash flow. I am thinking about possibly refinancing the loan in the future to pull out my initial investment to repeat the process, so that plays into who I will ultimately choose.

Sorry, I know that was long winded, I tried to leave out as many details as I could. If anyone could offer advice/suggestions/comments about going forward, anything is much appreciated. Thanks a lot!

[Robert A Garcia]

Money is green everywhere so I would get the money that is the cheapest. If you have enough right now than get cheap for the long run...Lower interest rate... If you are strapped than get the lowest for right now, lowest closing costs, points (up front costs)  Also if you continue doing this try to move towards deals that don't involve a lender, owner financed, contract for deed, as then the money costs are almost nothing