Attempting my first deal

[James Westby]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

I am working on my first deal. My wife recently got accepted into OHSU's PA program which means that we will need to live in Portland for a couple of years. Instead of renting, we are looking to house hack a small multi-family property in Portland or it's surrounding cities. We have made over 5 offers and I am waiting to hear back on my most recent offer!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I became a mortgage lender basically right out of college and fell in love with the whole real estate industry. One of the realtors that I met turned me on to BiggerPockets, and I have been hooked ever since. Everyone says that house-hacking is the best way to get started, and I agree! Ideally, we will BRRRR this property and keep when we move back to the Willamette Valley.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I am mostly sticking to the MLS for this deal. There are very few listed which has been challenging. I am also including SFR's with ADU's in the MLS description. I have made around 5 offers that have all lost to competing offers. In case you haven't heard, the Portland market doesn't conform to the financial benchmarks that are talked about (at least on the MLS). I am working on trying to figure out the market a little better, as well as looking into finding off market deals (I am struggling).

How did you finance this deal?

Because I have been in lending for less than 2 years (with a commission job), I don't qualify for conventional financing. I talked to my father-in-law who is a dentist, and he said that he would co-sign with us. I plan on re-financing after a year or so to get him off the loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

I have looked for ways to add value to each property that I make an offer on. In general, I am a numbers guy so hopefully the value I add will be buying correctly.

What was the outcome?

TBD...

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I have learned a lot about the Portland market, and I am just starting to feel comfortable making offers and playing the game. I have also learned about how to look at homes (I knew nothing about the structure of homes or what to look out for). Though I will admit, I still know very little.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

As for an Agent, I am working with Bryan Atkinson and have really enjoyed working with him.