First timer gets lucky, for the most part

[Arthur McCormack]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Clarksville.

Purchase price: $69,000

This was a rundown property with some serious basement foundation issues and expired roof. The seller was listing at $80K. I saw potential in the property and location so offered cash and waived inspection contingency in offer. Big risk to take, and the amount of money I have had to put in is about $10K more than I expected to upfront. This was my first deal ever, but now its rented with the 1bd/1bth at $750/mo and the 2bd/1bth at $800/mo. Not fantastic, but for a first deal... I'm happy.

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

I favor multi family because I cringe at the idea of having a vacancy and making no income, as would be if the case with SFR.

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

Found it on Zillow and negotiated through a real estate agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Self financed. I was newly self employed and just moved tonthe area at the time, so couldn't qualify for traditional financing and, at that time, was not really aware of any private money options.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I took a big gamble and could have gotten my bouté handed to me, but I got relatively lucky. I didn't do nearly enough due diligence and relied too much on gut feeling and hope. Then again, I might not have done it otherwise. Next time I.will definitely do better property eval, and seek feedback here on the BP forums.