My 1st Investment in a small condo

[Dennis Alves]

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $160,000
Cash invested: $3,000

This was my first investment. It is a small 490 sq foot condo. I purchased it in July of 2017 for 160K. I've put 8K total into the unit and I collect 1,400 per month in rent. I should be getting 1,500, per month but my current tenant is amazing and I've kept the rent the same since he moved in to keep him around. I currently make $400 per on this unit after all my expenses. I'm about to upgrade the bathroom so next year the rent will be going up.

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

Small condo's in large professionally managed buildings are being ignored by investors so I was able to find a good deal on this unit.

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

I've been aware of the units in the building for a few years. I finally developed the courage to take the plunge on my 1st investment.

How did you finance this deal?

Residential Mortgage 30 year fixed rate at 4.5%. My down payment was 25%.

How did you add value to the deal?

I used my HELOC on my two-family property that I currently live in for the down payment on this investment. The profits from this investment are now going back into paying down my HELOC that I used to draw the funds from.

What was the outcome?

It's been great. I found my tenant before I closed on the property. I've only had to invest $3,000 into cleaning up the unit. My tenant never bugs me and he pays the rent on-time every month. I currently make $400 per month on this unit that I put back into paying down the HELOC i used for the down payment on this investment.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I wished I had not dragged my feat on units in this building. I could have purchased a unit 3 months earlier for $150K if I had not be tow scared to make my 1st investment.

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

I did have an agent. A gentlemen named Sean Connelly, a Remax agent, out of Marblehead MA. I also used Fairway Mortgage to help me finance the property.