Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Fort Worth.

Purchase price: $55,000
Cash invested: $43,000

Traditional buy and hold that I scooped up back when you could buy a house in Fort Worth for $55k. Was still a deal at the time. Changed the locks, put a "Se alquila" sign out front, had it rented the next day, and it's been rented ever since. I did have 1 eviction that wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be, and the tenants that are there now have been there since 2015. $13k down and later paid it off with $35k.

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

It was my first true investment property purchase. I'd rented out my primary residence when I was out of state for a while, but this was the first property I'd purchased with the sole intent of renting it out. The deal was way too good to pass up.

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

Working with a local agent

How did you finance this deal?

Wells Fargo traditional investment mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

I changed the locks.

What was the outcome?

Still rented out 8 years later. The rental market in the neighborhood is rock solid.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Know your neighborhood demographics and speak their language. The realtor I worked with tried to rent it out for me after the purchase, but her "for lease" sign was intimidating to potential renters. Basically, it was too fancy of a sign for anyone in that neighborhood to think they could rent the place. I swapped the sign for a hand written "Se alquila" (for rent in Spanish) written in Sharpie, and my phone rang off the hook non-stop. Still have the sign in case it's ever vacant again.