An overview of my real estate career thus far

[Chris Lahman]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $218,000
Cash invested: $7,000

2/2.5 single-family home, built in 2009. Solar panels, detached garage, central air, 1,194 sq. ft.

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

I wanted a straightforward start to real estate investing, and this aligned with that goal. I turned this primary residence into a rental, and I'm going to look to repeat the process over the next few months.

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

This house belonged to a friend, and as fortunate would have it, he was looking to sell when I was looking to buy.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a low down payment first-time homebuyer conventional loan from a local credit union.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned to learn as much about how my house works as soon as possible. I was lucky that nothing went wrong, but I will waste no time with my next house. The challenges I faced with making this first step in my investing career was getting past paralysis by analysis. I dove deep into everything BP had to offer, and I was overwhelmed by all of the options. Once I learned of the house-hacking method after listening to Scott Trench's explanation, that was a route with which I was confident.

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

I used OnPoint Community Credit Union to finance this purchase. I've been happy with them, and my agent, Elizabeth Jansen, has been VERY patient with me and all of my questions over the years!