All Forum Posts by: Jamal Fontenot

Thank you @Joseph Firmin. I will definitely be doing that. I plan on leaving all cash flow from it in the account for any expenses that come up. I do self manage as of right now. once I get to around 8-10 I plan on getting a property manager. Currently trying to find a way to use the equity to fund my next deal. Thank you @Andrew Syrios

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $145,000
Cash invested: $11,475

Bought this property off the MLS. Listed at 155k, negotiated down to 145k. Was move in ready other than small updates made (updated kitchen faucet, updated bathroom light fixtures, updated bathroom mirror in masters, updated a/c thermostat ). I also added some granite wallpaper to the kitchen and some backsplash wallpaper. The house was a older house so I wanted to make sure i gave it a new feel as best as I could. It was move in ready when i got it and appraised for 167k(22k in equity). The PITI is $1078.49, with a interest rate of 2.875. We are currently renting it out at $1400.

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

It had a lot of equity in the deal and was move in ready. We spent a total of maybe 1k in updates for the house.

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

It was on the MLS and the seller took our offer of 145k

How did you finance this deal?

I used an FHA loan. lived in there for a few minutes, decided it wasn't the house for me and then i put it up for rent. I had the cash reserves for downpayment and closing cost saved up.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I think the biggest lesson i learned was, there is no perfect situation. You have to be confident enough to believe you will make away, humble enough to have done your due diligence and figured out the worse case scenario, and lastly you have to have atleast one exit strategy.

@Mark Sewell Thank you for that insight. I've been trying to come up with a rule of thumb as well. 

Hey @Kane Griffin, nice to meet you. I'm also an investor in the Houston area. Currently closing on my first buy and hold as well. Wish you nothing but the best of luck. Lets connect and figure out how we can help each other tackle some deals!

@Kai Williams depends, at what rate has it previously appreciated? What signs are you seeing of future development? Sounds pretty good, cash reserves for cap rate are important though so make sure you have “oh crap” money put aside. The best part about it all is your taking that big step of actually getting started. Congratulations on that, and best of luck!

Welcome @Ila Flannigan ! I'm a newbie investor in the houston area as well. Great place to start is by going to BiggerPockets Market Insight tab. They have some good breakdowns in there. Wish you the best of luck and feel free to reach out anytime!

Awesome deal! Hopefully you add it to your profile. Would like to hear more!

Great, informal post. Great to see Houston market still holding up pretty decently through this pandemic 

Hey Duman, welcome to BP. I'm also in the Houston area. Would love to connect!

Great post !