First Buy and Hold Rental

[James Carter]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $153,000
Cash invested: $20,000

Purchased this home in late 2017 with the intent to stop wasting money on renting, as well as use it as a rental when I PCS'd out of the area. We were able to pay the property off, however, we did have to invest around $20,000 for some unforeseen issues (septic and air conditioning). That being said, it is now hooked up to sewer and has a whole new air conditioning system.

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

Seemed like a solid win for us. We wanted extra income, plus we invested $20,000 for necessary repairs and we could not afford to sell the property until we made that money back.

How did you finance this deal?

We initially financed this house with a VA loan, but we paid it off within a year using money from a lawsuit.

What was the outcome?

This property, although it gave us headaches at the beginning when everything seemed to need repairing, has given us a great asset. The area is growing and the market is rising. Additionally, the rental income has helped us a great deal.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The house was built in 1983, and we experienced a lot of issues that had to be resolved. We had never bought a house before, and did not know what to look for. The septic was completely degraded, and our air conditioning system was leaking and had rotted the flooring in our hall and in two bedrooms.