All Forum Posts by: Brenda Pursley

I am looking in my home area. The problem is it's a very economically depressed area. The average rent is $611 for a 3 BR, but the rental demand is moderate, with a vacancy of about 4.9%. So, I'm challenged right now finding a property that will cash flow well enough for me to pull the trigger. I also have a realtor looking for short term rentals at Grand Lake, Oklahoma, where I have my vacation home, and I have a realtor friend licensed in Missouri and Arkansas whom I'm going to contact to look in Joplin, Missouri and Bella Vista, Arkansas. Just getting started, and doing a lot of reading, listening to podcasts and educating myself. I'm giving myself 10 years to be successful at this.

Turn key properties are best for me right now, as I'm a provider in a clinic and work 3 nights a week in an ER, so my time/energy is limited.

Thank you all for any tips, advise or otherwise!

Thanks for making contact with me. What should I be looking for in your opinion?

W2 employee in 2 full time jobs with the intent of investing in real estate to get some tax relief and generate cash flow. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $515,000

My vacation home on Grand Lake

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

Bought a lake vacation home for my family

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

I already owned a home not on the water. I negotiated this property by trading my owned property for this one, as it was a brand new property in an area being developed.

How did you finance this deal?

Bank. I used the equity in my previous vacation home for the down payment.

How did you add value to the deal?

Nothing that I know of

What was the outcome?

I still own the home. It's on the water, and I have a 32 x 12 foot boat slip in the nearby community dock. I was able to get the HOA to approve the addition of another small dock right behind my house with a 23 x 8 foot slip 2 years ago. I enjoy this home very much.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The problem is the HOA doesn't allow VRBO rentals, only year long leases so I wasn't able to generate cash with this property.

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

I worked with a great Keller Williams agent, but she died tragically a few years ago