Great Start to Real Estate Investing!

[Turner Wright]

Investment Info:

Other buy and hold investment in Huffman.

Purchase price: $85,000
Cash invested: $1
Sale price: $250,000

My wife and I bought 10 acres of unimproved property outside of Houston, TX for only $85k. We paid it off in 2012 and sold it--owner finance--earlier this year (2019) for $250k! Except for interest and taxes, we didn't put any more money into the property.

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

I wanted to buy property as an investment and searched the entire United States. I found great deals in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Idaho, New York, and other states, but decided to invest locally. The area we purchased the property was (and, still is) the last developed quadrant outside Houston, TX. The price per acre was relatively low and I knew that development was heading in that direction. And, I was right! I wish I bought more property out there!

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

I had a realtor looking for 10+ acres in the area.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional financing with Bank of America. They were the only lender that would provide a loan with very little down for an unimproved property.

How did you add value to the deal?

I didn't have to do anything to the property to add value.

What was the outcome?

A lot of money! We owner financed to a couple who gave a $175k down payment and who agreed to pay the remaining balance in 24 months, per contract. They paid it off 11 months early!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned there can be a lot of money made in real estate! I also learned that owner financing can be risky, but another option to close on a property.

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

I worked with Jayme Foster, with Keller Williams in Atascocita, TX.