Our First Rental & Lessons Learned

[Katelyn Savoie]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Aberdeen.

Purchase price: $69,000
Cash invested: $13,500

2 Bedroom, 1 Bath Rental with tenants already in place.

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

Our focus is single family homes.

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

Found on MLS. Our first offer was countered with too high of a price, so we walked away. Then a month later we submitted another offer for just 1K more and got it.

How did you finance this deal?

Portfolio loan with a local credit union.

What was the outcome?

We already received our first months rent and plan to hold onto this rental.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Going forward we'll have an electrician inspect all properties prior to purchase with possible K&T, so we know exactly what we're getting into and can better negotiate the price. The K&T was a little hidden (all outlets grounded, updated circuit breaker box & attic had some new wiring) and only after the purchase did we realize it is sliced throughout. This was an ok first property. My husband and I learned a lot and are determined to do better on the next deal. (Purchase #2 in 90 days).

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

Our agent was Doug Stickney (Gateway Real Estate). He was absolutely amazing and even drove to the properties and sent us pictures back so we didn't have to make the trip out to every property. Doug is a wealth of knowledge and has construction background, which is extremely helpful. He goes above and beyond and we'll definitely be working with him on future deals.