All Forum Posts by: David Fairall

@Cody Steck Thanks, Cody. And you’re right, perhaps I’m being a bit harsh. Having half the mortgage paid is definitely not lost on me. I’ve had to put a lot more money into it this first year than I ever expected so I guess I’m feeling if this is the norm for this place and not the exception than maybe this wasn’t such a great buy. It’s really old (1944). But I guess that’s part of the risk, right? However, I think there is a lot of potential upside to the place. Assuming I don’t continue to have years like this one, this place should cash flow positively once we move out and rent the upstairs as well. That’s what I’m working on now. The big selling point, according to the agent that helped us, was this place was listed and appraised as a single family and they were renting the lower unit for a few hundred dollars below market. We were able to get the rent up and I’m looking into getting it appraised as a multi family so they take the rents into account. We’ll see how it goes.

Hi Everyone. I'm relatively new to real estate investing and even newer to Bigger Pockets. I found this community a few weeks ago after listening to @David Greene's book--Long Distance Real Estate Investing.  (Thanks, David.) I just wanted to say, hello, and join the conversation.

Over the last 5 to 6 years or so, I kept crossing paths with people who owned investment properties. Some even started out owner-occupying one of the units in their property while tenant rent covered the mortgage. The idea of having someone else pay your mortgage sounded like a good plan. So, for years, my wife and I saved and tried to learn what we could. Salt Lake City, Utah is one of the hottest markets in the country right now and everything seemed beyond reach. At least for someone like me. We felt like we would never be able to afford an investment property. Through what we believe was divine intervention, we were introduced to a broker who helped us find the financing we needed as well as an agent who also buys and manages rentals. (It really was cool how we connected. At least I think so. If anyone is curious let me know 😊) I'm happy to say we closed on our first home/investment property last summer--a legalized duplex that was converted from a single family residence. We live upstairs and rent the basement apartment. Based on some of the quick formulas I've learned from the Bigger Pockets community (NOI in particular), this probably wasn't the best deal in hindsight. However, a theme I hear constantly from the podcast is that learning about real estate is great but at some point you need to take action. So while the tenant's rent doesn't completely cover our mortgage, we've only had to pay a little more than we did when we were renting ourselves and we feel pretty good about that. At least now, we're in the game. I'm hoping to make connections within this community and soak up as much as I can so I can be better prepared for my next deal and hopefully share what I've learned with others that find their way to Bigger Pockets. That being said, are there any Bigger Pockets members in the Salt Lake City area? If so, do you ever have meet ups? I'd love to make some local connections. Even if you're not local, I'd still love to connect so don't be shy. I tried to be brief but if anyone (especially newbies like me) has any questions about the deal or things I learned my first year as a property owner feel free to reach out.