What was your first deal? How much cash did you have

[Tanner Carson]

I am curious to know when and where you jumped into investing. I am trying to get out of analysis paralysis.

[Nathan Gesner]

It was 2004. My father-in-law was a REALTOR in the town I eventually wanted to live in. I asked him about investment property and he told me about a townhome that he used to own. I bought it based on his recommendation. At the time, I knew nothing about calculating returns or being a Landlord.

We bought it for $67,000 with about 10% down and the rest financed. We got a tenant in and everything was going great...for two weeks. Sewer line backed up but the plumber snaked it and all was good...for a month. Sewer line backed up again, this time destroying the carpet throughout the downstairs. We spent nearly $6,000 putting in a new sewer line, replacing the flooring, and taking out the tree that had grown through the sewer line.

Everything was going good...for two months. I received a letter from the HOA saying my "special assessment" was due. They were going to replace the roof and siding. I called the HOA President and asked if this was already paid by the seller because nobody mentioned a special assessment. She told me all the information was passed to my REALTOR (my father-in-law) on more than one occasion but he failed to tell me about it. If this were any other REALTOR, I would have sued them and made them pay the special assessment. But it was my father-in-law so we sucked it up and didn't even say anything to him.

Long story short, I spent nearly $10,000 within the first three months of owning my first investment property. Insurance reimbursed me for nearly $5,000 of the sewer issue so I was really out only $5,000.

After that initial fiasco, we set aside all rent money and never paid for another repair out of pocket. We sold the unit 8 years later and cashed out nearly $60,000. Not a bad return.