Finally in the game! Turnkey Experiment from 0 to 4 doors in a few months

[Joe Derobertis]

Hey all, 

  Like many folks here I've been interested in RE investing for a long long time.  I've have read many books, listened to many podcasts, and read many posts on this forum and still do so, but I sat on the sidelines for a number of years just trying to save enough money in my emergency fund before starting to save some down payment money.  Finally over the last couple of years I was able to turn the corner and was finally ready to take the plunge, but living in Southern California meant I needed to get over the Out of State investing hurdle.  After doing some reading and research I settled on partnering with a few turnkey providers and am very happy and excited to say that I have purchased 3 properties from 3 different providers (one is a duplex) and am embarking on what I feel is a bit of an experiment.  

Best case scenario I have a good experience with all 3 providers and worst case none of them stand out.  Either way I feel like I'll come out ahead even it's just in the education I'm getting.  I have already learned a ton from the process and at the end of the day if one or more of these providers stands out then I will continue to build with them.  If they all stand out, then even better!  If none of them stand out then I'll take my education and hopefully be more comfortable building out my local team, etc... 

I am VERY certain I have made some (or many) mistakes or left money on the table or overpaid etc... but all of these deals are cash flow positive after all costs + vacancy and maintenance.  I'm not going to make a ton off of these in the first few years.  I've tried to buy decent properties in decent neighborhoods to minimize my risk, which also means there's not a TON of monthly cashflow, but I'm in it for the long haul and really truly looking for passive income or at least as passive as it can be.  All these providers have in-house PM and have already done major capex so I think I've minimized my risk as best as I can, but again this is as much about the education as anything else so I'm trying to keep that in mind.

Anyway, I look forward to this experiment with excitement and I'm cautiously optimistic it will go well.  

Thanks for letting me share!

Joe