First rental property

[Kellan Martz]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Cleveland.

Purchase price: $45,000
Cash invested: $13,000

Single family home in Cleveland, OH 44128.

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

Relative low entry cost. Prior experience in real estate and landlord tenant law.

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

Realtor handled this process.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional mortgage. 20% down. 1 point in costs, 4.3% interest rate on 30 year.

How did you add value to the deal?

None so far. Will consider changes when the tenants leave (hopefully not for a long time)

What was the outcome?

So far, cash flowing.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

What did I learn?: 1) Be patient. Nothing moves as quickly as you like, especially with a mortgage. But have faith it will get one. 2) Closing costs were a bit higher than expected. I had a budget cushion, so it was fine. But make sure you make room for unexpected costs. 3) I didn't shop around for some mortgage costs that are allowed to be shopped, and you should. I just didn't have time or energy on this smaller deal. 4) Build a good team and respect them.

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

Wayne Brooks, Azzam Group (realtor). Ivra Basset, Shelter Insurance (insurance broker),