My first home turned rental property

[Steven Silbert]

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment in Hanover.

Purchase price: $368,000
Cash invested: $5,000

New 3 bedroom 3 1/2 bath townhouse built by Pulte.

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

First house. I'm active duty and have access to VA loan, so I decided sooner rather than later is better!

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

My realtor showed it to me, and it seemed like a perfect fit.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Pulte Mortgage offered $15,000 toward closing costs, so I went with them with a VA loan.

What was the outcome?

I lived there with roommates until I moved into my next house. Now have renters there paying the mortgage with a few hundred in profit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Sometimes you need to be willing to move fast and take a leap of faith, even when your friends think you are crazy.

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

I worked with Zagros Ahmed at Northrop Realty, a Long and Foster Company. She is absolutely amazing and has managed to find two perfect fits for me. This is also during a complete seller's market too.