First Buy & Hold Rental, Flint Mi

[Pamela Morrison]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Flint.

Purchase price: $60,000
Cash invested: $60,000

Our first buy and hold rental from our newly hatched business plan makeover. 950 square feet, 3bd 1 bath home with detached garage. Basically a turnkey home with a current long term renter already established. Our first deal back in the real estate game could not have gone easier. Good house to get our feet wet in the rental market.

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

Saw this house on mls. Not attractive, had one outdated blurry pic. Listing said it was currently rented by a long term tenant. Viewed the house and it looked nothing like the old pic used. Very cute, updated with a recent kitchen remodel. Basically a turnkey property we thought would be a good start in our newly formed rental business.

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

Found on the mls. Listed for $69,900. Paid $60,000 cash. Yes I know not the screaming deal everyone searches for, but for us it was an easy start, no work needed.

How did you finance this deal?

We used cash from our cash out refi on our personal residence.

How did you add value to the deal?

Homes in this neighborhood appraise for $70k+. We bought it well.

What was the outcome?

Realized it was a turnkey property with established renter with excellent payment history. This deal gave us the confidence to explore the area more. We discovered a new business model and plan. We went from years of talking about buying an investment property, to planning and taking action in a few months.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We learned to never do a formal inspection. At the same time we were trying to buy a duplex. Did formal inspections after negotiating and wanted to negotiate price more. Sellers in this area are mostly other investors so they are not interested in negotiating again. We learned to do our inspection during our first walk thru on our next properties. A lesson that has become a game changer for us.

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

Yes we had an agent but did most of leg work ourselves. The agent was basically only used for document prep!