My very first real estate deal!

[Sam Samuel]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $91,000
Cash invested: $145,000

This single family is a typical home on a typical block in the neighborhood. 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom and just over 1,000 square feet. It needed mostly cosmetic work, nothing to scare me away. I had a contractor get it all fixed up and handed it over to a property management company.

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

Finding any deal in today's market can be tough. In my state, New Jersey, the high taxes make it even harder to invest in buy and holds. With this home, the numbers just worked out, so I went for it.

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

I found the deal the traditional way. Through a broker on the MLS. I gave a low-ball offer, negotiated back and forth for 3 weeks and settled on a fair price.

How did you add value to the deal?

I added central A/C and and additional bathroom besides the general rehab to make it fresh and attractive to tenants.

What was the outcome?

I got good tenants paying good rents. The cash flow is higher than I expected. The cash on cash return should come out higher as well. Overall this was a great deal.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned the best lesson in my life on this deal. Real Estate investing is much much easier than I thought.