All Forum Posts by: Autumn Whittington

New to the area and looking forward to learning about the area to invest. Buying this summer, ISO of a good house hack close to MacDill AFB. Very interested in the local STR/MTR limitations, taxes, and insurance rules.

@Trevor Camanse, recent move to the area. ISO meetings or social networking. Happy to hear about anything this month.

Hi Michael, yeah this deal was off the normal trail. The draw-back is the market is very specific to 55+ renters. In some ways, this community is a fraction of the cost of a similar assisted living community. Those can run in the $5k a month range. The community HOA only allows 20% of the units as rentals, so my 4 make up 30% of the allowed rentals alone. I really like these units. If my grandmother was not stuck on living close to her church, I would let her live in one of the units and just pay the HOA/utilities.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $1,180,000
Cash invested: $295,000

Rare investment opportunity. I bought 4x SFR in a new build 55+ yr old community all while deployed to Japan. I bought when the developer decided to off load the community to individual buyers vs a planned Sr. living community. Over the last 12 months, all four units have appreciated by 30%. It took a long time to get all 4 rented and units are now doing very well.

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

Rental numbers were great with plenty of room for contingencies.

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

Roofstock, I negotiated directly with the listing agent.

How did you finance this deal?

20% down investment loan, 30 yr fixed, 2.625 interest rate

How did you add value to the deal?

Turn-key

What was the outcome?

Great buy and hold rental.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

First real estate buy site unseen. Worked out well.

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $210,000
Cash invested: $43,000

Second investment property I bought that I did not live in before. I bought this unit on the onset of COVID-19 fears and right before I moved to Hawaii via military orders.

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

I lived in the area for 4 yrs and knew the area well.

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

MLS - RE agent

How did you finance this deal?

20% down investment loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

Turn key

What was the outcome?

Steady cash flowing house, low vacancy.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Some renters want to submit work requests for everything.

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

Kanwar Sodhi was my RE agent. Would recommend and work with again in his area.

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $155,000
Cash invested: $46,700

Townhouse in a C+, high demand area. This was a 1% deal by the send years rent. First investment property I bought and did not live in it before renting.

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

I was able to afford it with a great loan and the rents were strong.

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

MNL - RE agent

How did you finance this deal?

20% down investment loan under conforming terms.

How did you add value to the deal?

Replaced the 2x bathrooms, flooring, new paint throughout inside.

What was the outcome?

Great cash flowing property.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Not all real estate agents are good for a investor.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $302,000

A Single Family residence where I built a 900 square foot detached dwelling unit above the garage. I now rent both units for a great return.

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

Great place to live for my family, naturally a good rental in time.

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

MLS, I offered a escalation clause that got me the house.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan, $0 down. 2.75 interest rate on a 15 yr loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

Built a 900 sq ft loft above a garage. Detached from the house by four feet.

What was the outcome?

Great cash flowing property as two units in a high demand area.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Zoning and planning department at the county is a pain in the a$$.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $134,000

My second home I bought, turn key owner occupied property. After 3 years, I moved out and turned it into a long term rental. I have replaced the roof myself and installed a concrete patio but nothing else. After aggressively paying the mortgage, I paid off the mortgage in October 2021. Plan to keep this a paid off property as "piggy bank" in case a great opportunity or emergency comes up. Cash flow listed is monthly rent.

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

It was a short-sale deal. I was in need of a place to live and I offered just below asking price with the contingency to occupy the house until the bank took its time deciding on my offer. I lived in the house for 5 months rent free until they finally accepted. That was a great deal for me personally. Living on a air mattress for all that time did suck but worked out in the end.

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

MLS - RE agent

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan, $0 down, 15 yr fixed at 3.25% interest rate.

How did you add value to the deal?

Turn key. I added a concrete porch in 2016 replaced the roof in 2019 following a storm.

What was the outcome?

Steady cash flowing property that is paid off.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Buy a house you can easily afford for your needs and one that will rent easily.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $134,000

My second home I bought as a turn key owner occupied property. Using a VA loan, I put nothing down with a 15 yr loan on this short-sale purchase. After my 3 years of military orders in the area were up, I moved out and turned it into a long term rental. I have replaced the roof myself and installed a concrete patio but nothing else. After aggressively paying the mortgage, I paid off the mortgage in October 2021. Plan to keep this a paid off property as "piggy bank" in case a great opportunity or emergency comes up. Cash flow listed is monthly rent.

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

It was a short-sale deal. I was in need of a place to live and I offered just below asking price with the contingency to occupy the house until the bank took its time deciding on my offer. I lived in the house for 5 months rent free until they finally accepted. That was a great deal for me personally. Living on a air mattress for all that time did suck but worked out in the end.

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

MLS - RE agent

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan, $0 down, 15 yr fixed at 3.25% interest rate.

How did you add value to the deal?

Turn key. I added a concrete porch in 2016 replaced the roof in 2019 following a storm.

What was the outcome?

Steady cash flowing property that is paid off.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Buy a house you can easily afford for your needs and one that will rent easily.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $134,000

This was the first home I bought while I was a full time college student. I house-hacked the 3x rooms upstairs to fellow college students and had $700 a month left over after PITI! That alone got me hoked. After I graduated college and moved out of state, I turned it into a SFR. 10 yrs later, I paid off the mortgage and COR just before COVID-19 hit the fan. Thanks to that, I have used that one house to accelerate my investment portfolio.

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

Location close to my school, safe location, and just on the outside of the expensive tax county.

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

MLS with a RE agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Private loan via family member.

How did you add value to the deal?

Renovated yard while I lived in the house for the first 2 years. Over the last 10 yrs, I have updated the windows, flooring, and basement.

What was the outcome?

Stable rental property. Rent has 2x over the last 9 yrs.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Real estate is easy, you just need to jump in and learn as you go.