Just Purchased My First Multi-Family Properties (Pictures)

[Matthew B.]

We just closed this past week on two duplexes in Eustis, FL. These are our first multi-family properties, so we're pretty excited. We bought them from Fannie Mae through HomePath, which a great story in itself. 

They were originally listed for around $120,000 each about a year ago. The funny thing was, the listing prices were $10,000 apart and they were listed with different listing agents, even though the properties are identical and share a common area. Fannie Mae slowly lowered the price every month or so until they were both in the $70,000 - $80,000 range. I made offers a couple months ago, and I made it clear to the listing agents that I wanted both, not one or the other. After over a month of negotiations, Fannie Mae accepted my offers on both, which I think were around $63,000 at the time. When I tried to submit the signed contracts and paperwork, the listing agents told me that both properties had been taken off the market. I figured I'd lost them to another buyer. About a week later, I received a call from a different agent in Orlando, who told me he was the new listing agent for both properties, and Fannie Mae had set the new listing price for each property at $54,000. I jumped on the deal and still can't believe how Fannie Mae does business, although I am grateful for their stupidity.

Anyways, the units of each duplex are 2 bedroom, 1 bath. Great layouts and the bedrooms are huge! Both properties need a complete rehab. Once complete, each unit should rent for about $700 per month.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to tenant-proof rental properties please let me know. I want to include the suggestions in the rehab so these properties are as durable as possible.