Thinking I wasn't a good landlord

[Susan Reehill]

Hi All, I'm new to BP, the podcasts, REI and my BP Pro membership.

I’m so, so grateful to be here!

As I search for my first deal, I wanted to share my real estate story on this forum!

In 2009, I bought my first home. It had been on the market for about a year, originally listed at $320k and they had brought the price down to around $250k by that time.

They accepted $195k plus finance my closing for a total of $203k, financed with an FHA loan. Those first few years were rocky and my home value plummeted to $160k. I thought homeownership was a joke! Luckily, the housing market bounced back!

1st home: 4 bd, 2.5 ba, 1760 sq.ft + 2 car attached garage. 1418 S 95th St, Tacoma, if you wanna check it out.

Fast forward seven years to 2016, I decided to move closer to downtown Tacoma where I can bike / run / walk everywhere!

By that time, I was Dave Ramsey’ing my life and qualified for a $255k conventional loan w.20% down, without selling my first home!

I decided to rent out my home after two months of trying to sell it with no luck.

I knew nothing about landlord-ing so accepted the first tenant who applied. She had a huge sob story, and I had a huge heart!

Seven months later, I gave her cash-for-keys to GTF out of my home!

She did more damage to my home in seven months than my son and I had done in seven years!

The lesson for me: I was a horrible landlord because I cared too much about my home!

With that, I sold my home for $282k in 2017. I try not to think about how it’s worth about $500k now and I shoulda just kept landlording!

I’m now looking for my first house hack so I can rent out my current home. I’d love to hear your first rental stories!