First purchase after a long road

[Joshua Diaz]

Hello, BP Family! At about 5:30pm on November 9, 2017, I have officially closed on the first
property in my life. If you had mentioned this happening to me about 3 years ago, I
would have laughed it off. Back then, Real Estate was the last thing on my mind.

But thanks to a lucky accident (or maybe it was fate) on clicking a google search
to a thread on this site about REITs, I have gotten to this point.

Mistakes were most likely made and this is far from a home run, but now i can honestly say
I own Real Estate that currently cash flows a bit before making improvements which
would justify rent increases.

Make no mistake, I did not just jump in knowing what to do with no issues whatsoever.
I read books, listened to the BP podcast, and read forum threads for almost a year
before even reaching out to a real estate agent. During that time, I worked extra hours and saved
up as much as I could. I find that part funny because i was unknowingly
following the plan in @Scott Trench 's book "Set for Life" without realizing it.
However, I still needed some help from family to make this happen.
I mention this because its not an easy thing that will happen overnight like you hear from late
night commercials, but it is still very possible if you focus on it.

I found it really helped when I took it step by step rather than try to do everything at once and overwhelm myself.

Also, attending meetups helped when talking to other investors and hearing their take in it.  Big thanks to @Darren Sager for running all of those meetups!


But here are some numbers since I know that's what you are looking for. ;)

Purchase Price: $201,900

Appraisal in current condition: $205,000 (a few thousand in equity before even doing anything isn't bad, right?)

Rents: unit 1 (3 bed) $975
unit 2 (3 bed) $1100

All utilities covered by tenants
I am responsible for upkeep of well system(the solution used to treat water) and septic tank cleaning

I am probably being more conservative of my expenses but after running everything i could think of,
I will get a monthly cash flow as of right now before any increases in rent.

Monthly cash flow: $195

This house is on the older side (1900) so there is some work to be done, but it has sturdy bones.

I couldn't take pictures of the insides because there are currently tenants in there (i can hear the moans of disapproval already)
but being that they are both on month to month leases and I have yet to find any negative info on them, I'm going to see how this goes.

However, I do have plans in place to replace them if need be.

Once again, I want to thank everyone at BP (those who help keep the site going and all the members who add tons of
content everyday). I may not have interacted with everyone personally, but i have read and taken to heart all of the
knowledge, experiences, and advice you have shared and incorporated it into my life. Thank you!

And of course a huge thank you to @Joshua Dorkin (the Original JD) for creating something as awesome as BP and leading people
down the road to success.

May all your investing be good and profitable!