First Real Estate Investment

[Charito Mattson]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) other investment in Lakewood.

Purchase price: $410,000
Cash invested: $17,000

We made a mistake on this purchase. We are negative on our numbers. It's an FHA loan so we have to use it as the main resident for 1 year. It's giving a toll in our everyday commute to and from work (40 miles away).

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

My partner met a friend whom a very successful through real estate. We started watching videos and found out about Robert Kiyosaki's books then BiggerPockets.com.

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

We found this deal through our real estate agent by MLS listings. Our agents did not really negotiate on our behalf. He even warned us to be ready if the seller decided to increase the price because it was just a few days in the market.

How did you finance this deal?

We used my IRA account from the previous employer.

How did you add value to the deal?

None really. The units are well-maintained by the previous owner.

What was the outcome?

For now, we are negative on numbers because we are living in one unit. Maybe after we move out and both units can be rented out, we might be able to be positive. We'll see....

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Do the numbers before anything else. Never put the emotions when looking at any properties.

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

Disappointed with our agent, won't use him again.