My First Deal (What a Learning Lesson)

[Justin Marby]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Fresno.

Purchase price: $150,000
Cash invested: $45,000

Remodeled 3 bedroom 1 bath home with a great room, bonus room, large master bedroom. With all new laminate floors, carpet, lighting fixtures, bathroom, stainless steel appliances, grey-toned color walls, you can enjoy the large backyard for gatherings. Home is a short distance to schools, parks, shopping, entertainment, restaurant.

Lot: 8,158 sqft
Year built: 1949
Sqft: 1,990

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

Wanted to get off the sideline and into the game. Took a chance and I learned a lot of lesson, good and not so good.

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

Deal was brought to be from a family friend who is a wholesaler/flipper.

How did you finance this deal?

This deal was financed through a hard money lender.

How did you add value to the deal?

Value was added to this property by remodeling and upgrading the kitchen, bathroom, flooring, fixtures, interior/exterior paint, plumbing, garage door.

What was the outcome?

The outcome was refinancing with cash out, and filling the property with a tenant.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I could go on and on about the lessons I learned from this deal.

But the biggest take away from this deal was making the mistake of putting trust in (shady) people, instead of trusting my gut and knowledge learned from self-education, seminars, and webinars.

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

Yes, I worked with a wholesaling team, their contractor/handyman and realtor, and lender.

I will only be working with the lender in the future.