I have a success story to share with you all, since I have learnt so much from this community and everyone here has been so helpful in my real estate journey.
I started my journey about 1.5 years back, read a bunch of books, used to religiously listen to the Bigger Pockets podcast. I developed my own cashflow calculator spreadsheet and started going on Zillow, exploring home after home, and crunching out numbers. I targeting the Austin and San Antonio area. But as you all now, real estate there is no longer priced like how it was a few years ago. According to my calculations, the best of the best properties were cash flowing negative at least $500. It was really frustrating not being able to find a single deal that made sense financially. Being a new investor, and that too out of state, I was not willing to invest in a fixer upper. I was primarily looking for turnkey properties which were ready to move in from day one. Long story short, I felt the paralysis by analysis, was on the sidelines for far too long, and had given up hope.
Just then, early this year in January, one of my buddies shared this deal with me, a Lennar community in Seguin, Texas, in a great school district, brand new construction at a very decent price point. Again, I did all my calculations, and this time the finances made sense. I jumped right in. It was nerve wrecking wiring in the 20% downpayment, but I took the leap of faith and hoped for the best. I closed on the home. Success! Well, not yet. I had to find a tenant.
It was a waiting game. Will I actually find a tenant who will pay the forecasted rent that I had estimated for my numbers to work? 2 months go by, still no tenant. My property management rep was super helpful during the process. I finally found a great family who were moving from out of town. They negotiated the rent down by $50 and requested a fridge to be installed in the home. I accepted the offer and got them to sign a 24 month lease. I am cash flowing positive ~$150 on the new construction, which is exactly what I was aiming for.
Of course it was not as easy as it sounds. It was months of fighting with the property management company and the builders to get things fixed in the house, more than $4500 spent in upgrades - blinds, irrigation, garage door opener, locks, refrigerator etc. But I am happy to have found some great tenants and made my first real estate investment. Wanted to share this with anyone still on the sidelines and waiting to make the move. Keep looking, just when you are about to give up, something will come along and it will be worth the wait. There are some good deals out there even in this market. Good luck!
