Starting Out On My First Rental Property - Single Family

[Nick Hammen]

Hey everyone, my name is Nick. I've very new to real estate, more specifically, single-family rental properties. I just became a pro member, and have been learning, attending webinars, reading book after book, and subscribing to real estate podcasts for about a year and a half now.

I am looking to complete an acquisition on my first official rental property by the end of next month. I've done my homework, ran it through various scenarios on the calculators on here, and have started the conversation with the realtor handling the seller's side of the sale. I have not walked through or proposed an offer yet. I am in the process of finding a good real estate agent to represent me before I proceed any further.

I am still researching options for financing to make sure I have that base covered for when I get to that point, but being in rural Iowa, sites like Rentometer don't work and alot of the mortgage options offered on here won't qualify it since the total loan would be under $30,000. I have excellent credit, so it's just finding the right financing and company at this point.

The house allegedly (haven't walked through or inspected yet) is move-in ready. For financing, is it better to take out a 2-year personal loan and refinance it after a year to a 30-year mortgage, or is it better to finance it with the mortgage directly? Any pros, cons, or pitfalls?

When/If I do offer on the property, I will be starting out at 75% of asking price with my own terms and contingencies, but based on inspection, I may raise my offer and request credit for repairs. Any strategy advise for this?

Happy to be in the community. I'm ready to dig in!