My First Rental Property

[Michael Hartnett]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Fort Myers.

Purchase price: $125,000
Cash invested: $40,000

I bought this 3 BR 2 1/2 bath home in Fort Myers as my first investment property. My goal was to live in the house while fixing it up and ultimately rent it out and repeat. I did just that! With the help of my dad, we fixed this place up to be a beautiful home. It is now a cash producing asset with approximately $400 a month in profit.

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

The opportunity to house hack was a must for me. I didn't have the cash to buy the house and pay rent somewhere else. I was able to rent out the additional bedrooms while fixing the place up. I didn't need to rent out the rooms to afford the payments but it certainly helped provide additional money for improvements.

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

I searched local listings and mls for about 4 months before I found the property that I wanted.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan with 5% down payment.

How did you add value to the deal?

My dad and I added value to the deal through the improvements. I rented the rooms to colleagues in the area while we worked on the home.

What was the outcome?

The outcome was a cash producing asset that provides profits each month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lesson learned: The rehab costs a lot more than I thought. Even with my dad and I doing most of the work ourselves, we still invested nearly $25,000 in improvements.