All Forum Posts by: Kasey Rowe

Thanks for the advice. I just purchased Brandon's book "The Book on Rental Property Investing". I am going to read that and see if it gives me a little more confidence on the subject.

I work for an HVAC wholesaler, so I have a lot of connections with good contractors for many different issues. I am definitely leaning towards your suggestion of using a an SFR manager for a year. It seems like the cheapest way to learn.

My wife and I are about to put our home up for rent. This will be our first foray into landlording. I am torn between self managing or going with a property manager. The only thing that concerns me about self managing is the legal side of things. I am not worried about handling the maintenance calls or any of that. Is it best for newbies to start with a property manager and give up some of the profit as a learning cost?

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Conover.

Purchase price: $82,500
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $130,000

This was a home I purchased to do a slow fix and flip to get my foot in the door. I originally wanted to have this become a rental property. Since I had stayed there for over 2 years, and the property values increased along with the value I added to the home, I decided to sell. This was a 3 bedroom 1 bath ranch style home with a fenced in backyard. I did a complete gut of the kitchen, created a separate laundry room, and added a front porch.

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

I was looking for a property that would be a good rental.

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

I had an agent and it was found on the MLS. The original asking price was $85,000. There were a few things that came up during the inspection. With that we got them to drop the price. I knew it was a good deal at the $85,000 price so I wasn't wanting to push too much.

How did you finance this deal?

I was a first time homebuyer, so I just used a USDA loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

I completely gutted the kitchen. I got very lucky on the kitchen remodel. My friend's sister was going to throw away brand new cabinets because there weren't enough to fit in her house. I got them for free. I did all the work on my own with a little help from my dad. We added a new front porch and painted the outside and inside.

What was the outcome?

I profited close to $40,000. I was able to become debt free just a month after getting married.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Fix the big problems before the cosmetic problems. The week before closing we had to address a drainage issue that I put off until the last minute. I also had a difficult neighbor. I originally wanted to rent it, but do to the neighbor I knew I would always have him calling about the tenants. So I learned never have one exit in mind. Adapt to the situation.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Conover.

Purchase price: $82,500
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $130,000

This was a home I purchased to do a slow fix and flip to get my foot in the door. I originally wanted to have this become a rental property. Since I had stayed there for over 2 years, and the property values increased along with the value I added to the home, I decided to sell. This was a 3 bedroom 1 bath ranch style home with a fenced in backyard. I did a complete gut of the kitchen, created a separate laundry room, and added a front porch. There were a few cosmetic things that I could've done at the end, but I was getting married and began to rush the process more than I should have. Hind sight is 20/20, but I don't believe those changes would've increased my ROI.

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

I was looking for a property that would be a good rental.

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

I had an agent and it was found on the MLS. The original asking price was $85,000. There were a few things that came up during the inspection. With that we got them to drop the price. I knew it was a good deal at the $85,000 price so I wasn't wanting to push too much.

How did you finance this deal?

I was a first time homebuyer, so I just used a USDA loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

I completely gutted the kitchen. I got very lucky on the kitchen remodel. My friend's sister was going to throw away brand new cabinets because there weren't enough to fit in her house. I got them for free. I did all the work on my own with a little help from my dad. We added a new front porch and painted the outside and inside.

What was the outcome?

I profited close to $40,000. I was able to become debt free just a month after getting married.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Fix the big problems before the cosmetic problems. The week before closing we had to address a drainage issue that I put off until the last minute.