Closed on my first property last week!

[Justin Wotring]

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $64,500
Cash invested: $19,445

First investment property and it's a duplex! Purchased sight unseen!

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

Stable cash-flowing duplex located within a half mile of a university and near where I grew up.

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

My realtor/property manager passed it along to me after one of his other investor clients stopped communicating with him. I quickly ran the numbers and after some back-and-forth with the seller was able to negotiate the price to $10,400 below asking, plus some seller credits at closing.

How did you finance this deal?

I used the HELOC on my primary residence to fund the down payment and initial repairs.

How did you add value to the deal?

We put together a repair/maintenance list based off of the initial property inspection and tenant requests and prioritized what needed immediate attention. My realtor/property manager already had a team in place to knock out most of the list within the first week!

What was the outcome?

Addressing the immediate repair issues helped set the tone for the type of landlord that I want to be and should build trust and loyalty with the inherited tenants.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Since I live in California and this property's in Ohio, I am very fortunate to have found an exceptional realtor/property manager who can get things done. Buying a property sight unseen, I feel it's imperative to find someone you can trust, build a relationship, and follow their guidance. The main challenge I encountered was getting over my fear of taking the first steps. In the end, I can't believe how easy everything fell into place.