First Cash Flow Investment.

[Pete Harper]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $97,500
Cash invested: $10,000

2/1 Duplex near Texas A&M in Bryan.
This was my wife and my first serious Cashflow investment.

We put a fresh coat of paint over the ‘80s style avocado walls. Painted tired kitchen cabinets a bright white. Added microwave ovens as upgrade.

My wife and I enjoy fixing places up so we did the majority of the work ourselves. We hired a roofer and the flooring. I plan to look doing flooring in the future.

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

We are retired, looking for long term cash flow.

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

Found on MLS, negotiated with buyers agent. We were able to get significant price reduction using inspection report.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan, 30yr fixed, 25% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

New roof, rain gutters and full makeover inside.

What was the outcome?

Long term hold for positive cash flow

Lessons learned? Challenges?

My wife and I enjoy doing our own renovations. We get a nice sense of accomplishment making something better.

On renovations we learned painting tired old kitchen cabinets is a low cost way to spruce up a kitchen. We also learned the over oven microwave are a nice upgrade for these tiny galley kitchens.

We learned not to trust neighbors for renter references. We have had a bad experience with first Tennant. Police were called out the first month, habitually late on rent. Plan to evict.

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

Johnny Horton was our agent. He is the best! Plan to use him again.