My VERY FIRST property deal... done!

[Heather Schmidtknecht]

This summer I set out to purchase a rental property with the guidance of Bigger Pockets.  The neighborhood I was interested in is a college-town, so many rentals are occupied by students, as landlords can make more money charging students by the room as opposed to renting to families.  When looking at many investment possibilities, it became increasingly clear that many landlords are taking advantage of the constant influx of renters in this community... large houses are hacked up into apartments, leading to odd-sized rooms and a lack of "flow" in the floorplan.  Many of them have so many layers of paint on the walls, that it's permanent state is literally "tacky", both in texture and in appearance.  I decided that my "standard" is much higher than that, and I decided I would not buy a property to rent unless I would be comfortable living there myself.

I found a 3-bedroom, 2 bath single family residence that has been recently updated and is clean and fresh.  The home inspector indicated this is a home that had been well-maintained.  When I closed on the property, I put an ad on Craig's List and we did some minor cleaning, paint touch-ups, replaced all the light bulbs to LED, and replaced all the smoke/CO detectors and within 2 weeks, the place was rented.

The property was listed at $116,900 and after negotiating, we settled on $114,000 with a home warranty.  I put 15% down, and took a 15-year mortgage.  I have a lease signed for $1000/month to a single professional female, who will also pay all utilities.  I am very happy with how this deal turned out and am looking for the next one!  :)