Social Circle, GA-SFR. My first deal is my own house

[Travis H.]

Since this is an entry in an investor deal diary, I'm going to be a little bit more creative with this one. I've inserted lines in the text for those of you who are in a hurry.

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My investment career started with an overzealous pup and a patch of wet grass. 

I guess the dogs just couldn't resist chasing after that squirrel. Maybe he forgot that I was attached to the leash. He lunged forward and so did I. At least, everything from my head to my waist did. And then, I slipped.

You ever slip forward on wet grass? The tendency is to fall backwards on your butt. I heard a pop on my way down as my left leg twisted in three different directions. I didn't know the extent of the damage, but I became patently aware that walking was definitely out of the question.

My teeth chattered violently as adrenaline surged through my body, acting as a sort of natural painkiller.

I screamed for help. Not called. Screamed. The three dogs that I had with me roamed freely in the front yard while I lay on the grass crying and screaming for rescue. 

It became abundantly clear to me that two things would have to happen.

1. I would have to crawl up the front stairs of my house on my hands and knees, crawl into the kitchen, and reach up to the kitchen island to get my phone so I could call someone for help.

2. I am getting out of this house and I am not looking back. I cannot live in a place where my screams for help are met with silence from my neighbors. 

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Here I am, a few weeks later, with a cast on my leg and less than a week left before I go back to work to finish out the school year. 

I've already contacted my realtors, a husband and wife team named Ronnie and Nancy. Both of them are confident that my house can be sold. There's work that needs to be done: The yard needs mowing, the house needs pressure washing, and various cosmetic repairs need to take place on the inside. Until my leg heals, there's not much that I can do about that. My girlfriend is overwhelmed as it is with having to keep the house in order and take care of three dogs and a crippled boyfriend.

This is not going to be easy. 

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Right now, I have about $127,500 remaining on my mortgage. I originally bought the house for $138,000 back in February of 2008 for 0 down with a 7% mortgage.

I later refinanced for a 4.25% interest rate and a $936.01 per month payment that has since climbed to 945.

The house itself is roughly 2,400 square feet (including the garage) and rests on a sloped 3.31 acres of land, most of which is some combination of pine trees and kudzu. It takes about three minutes to walk to my mailbox, and one car passing by every thirty minutes is considered heavy traffic. 

The house has three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, electric everything, and a two car garage. 

If I were to rent, based on the 50% rule that I read about here, I'd have to charge $1,890 just to break even on my mortgage (and that's not counting any other expenses that I'd likely incur). I'm not sure that I could get away with charging that much, so it looks like selling is the way to go. I want to make at least enough from the sale to put a down payment on my next investment that I guarantee will be far better thought out than this one was.