First SFH Rental: Dipping my toe into the investing waters...

[Mackenzie Grate]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $101,000
Cash invested: $11,000

Minor rehab, rented out. Cash flows well. :)

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

It was my first one so I wanted to take on a manageable size project. Nothing major.

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

MLS. I ran my numbers and offered what I was comfortable offering. I needed to make sure I could pay for it myself each month if the tenant didn't pay.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Minor rehab, all cosmetic.

What was the outcome?

I was able to raise the rent significantly from what the previous landlord was charging. I've had steady tenants since.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Make sure you select the right property management company. The first one I had was a guy starting his business. It was just him and it never developed into a fully fleshed out "business." So I ended up switching property managers to a company that was already well established after.