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Updated almost 2 years ago,
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My Journey into the World of Real Estate Investing
Investment Info:
Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.
I'm a veterinarian that has always had an interest in real estate and spotting neighborhood trends. That said, I started my real estate journey in my 40s with no other intention other than buying and owning my first home. It was a great opportunity, but I was new to Houston and didn't know it at the time. The neighborhood was under valued but over the next 6 years became a very hot area. There was also a stand alone 1BR rental house on the property, so I began renting it right away and appreciated how that reduced my mortgage.
My second venture was purchasing the property for my veterinary practice. The property is now worth double the original investment and I became familiar with turning a residential property into a commercial one.
As the last quarter of 2022 and early 2023 saw a softening of the RE market, I saw housing prices start to drop - not tremendously - but by enough that a $325K home in an up-and-coming centrally located Houston area was now closer to my price range of 285K. So I refinanced my original house that had almost 200K of equity and bought my first real investment property as a rental. It is now rented and will cash flow. Over time, I hope to build additional equity in this home and use it to purchase additional properties,
I like the buy and hold model, especially in areas that are well located but undervalued - these places, in my opinion, are positioned for growth. I'm also interested in purchasing some of these types of properties that have large lots, so in time as the area becomes more sought after, the extra land will yield some opportunities.