All Forum Posts by: Lee Yoder

Thanks for this post and thanks for all you do to educate us young investors that want to be where you and Jake are one day. I love your story because you and Jake are truly self-made but you also realized quickly the importance of a team. I plan to take the same path though I may take your recent evolution toward syndication and use that much earlier in my REI career. Thanks again for all the education you provide!

Thanks Michelle! One of the things I'm most proud of is how well we (my wife) staged it. She did all of the staging herself on a $200 budget! She got everything from Goodwill and garage sales or borrowed from friends. For example, the kitchen table was purchased at a garage sale for $2. She sanded it, painted it and it looked so cool. The bed in the master bedroom was just an air mattress sitting on some 2x4's with one of our comforters over it. 

Thanks Jon! The next one did go much better. I just finished rehabbing a duplex and have it for sale. It took so much less time and I should make a better profit. 

Thanks Drew!

Thanks Joe! I'm just trying to be like you someday soon!

This made me laugh Pat. My wife is definitely good for that as well. But, I'm more of "ready, fire, aim" guy so it's definitely beneficial to have her as a more prudent, cautious participant. Thanks for the well-wishes. I'm excited for the next 25 years. 

I bought the house that no wise flipper would buy. It was an absolute mess and needed everything. It even had the dreaded leaking basement. I hired contractors for the bigger, skilled jobs, but I put in over 500 hours myself to keep my costs low. My wife and I were very nervous with this being our first real estate venture. It did turn out well in the end and we made more money than we had hoped for and I learned a ton, but it also took way too much of my time.

Why this investment? 

With this being our first investment, my wife and I were nervous about losing money, so I bought a house that needed a ton of work thinking that if I did enough of it myself, I would be able to control costs and force a profit. This house was very close to my home so it cut down on time away from my family. It's also located in a great town with very desirable schools, so I knew I would have plenty of buyers.

How did I find the deal?

I bought this home from an online auction site, xome.com. I bid on it several times and I was the high bidder the first round of bidding. I've since learned that you never want to be the high bidder on the first round of bidding because the auction company is bidding against you and will only let you win the first round if you overpay. That may not be true, but I do believe that I overpaid for this property. I was at the point where I really wanted to begin investing so I forced it a bit.

How did I finance?

We opened a HELOC on our home which we bought in 2012, but my guy at the bank either quit or was fired and didn't get the HELOC set up in time so the money wasn't ready when I needed it. So, my wife's parents lent us $60k and we spent $20k from our savings for the purchase. We used the HELOC for the $70k of rehab costs.

What did I add to the deal?

Sweat equity. I put in over 500 hours of work into this flip while working full-time. I would often get up at 4:00am and work for a couple hours before my kids woke up so I wouldn't take away time from my family. I also worked until after midnight several nights. My dad, my father-in-law, my cousin-in-law and my wife helped a lot as well.

What was the outcome?

I learned a ton. That was the most important outcome. Because this house needed everything rehabbed, I learned what it's like to do nearly every part of a rehab. I also learned to manage contractors. We did make about $30k which was more than we had hoped for. But, it came at a price- too much time away from my family and too much added stress for my wife who stays home with our kids full-time.

Any help from other REI professionals?

A local realtor/investor reached out to me before I purchased this flip. He got my info when I entered it on some bank-owned website. I could tell he was genuinely interested in helping me get started. He was also kind enough to encourage me to list this property on my own because he knew I would have no problem selling it. I don't think he made any money on this deal, but he did gain a client for life. His name is Robert (Steve) Riehle.

What now?

I took my profit and my HELOC and bought a duplex at the county auction. I just finished rehabbing it and listed it for sale on 12/14. I'll do another post after I sell it.

Congrats Joe! This looks like another great deal for your portfolio. You are well on your way man!

Also, thank you for your service as a police officer. 

Hey Kyle, I'm in the same position as you- deciding how I want to begin my investing career. Based on my research, more units make more sense. Buildings with more units cost only a little more but yield significantly more cash flow. Ex: Quads usually cost about 2 - 2.5x as much as a SFR in this area, but you get 3 - 4x as much rental income. Obviously, you have to have more money to purchase and I have also heard people say that you get a better tenant with a SFR, which makes sense. But, I still believe there are far more benefits with multifamily. I have also come believe commercial (>4 units) is better because you can control the value of the property because it's based on NOI instead of comps.

I live just north of Cincinnati and my biggest issue has been finding multifamily properties with a decent price and value add opportunities. I'm also limiting myself on area because I want to invest close to home as I plan to manage the properties myself until I get a big enough portfolio or get big enough properties to outsource the management. 

I typed in my zip code and it looks like they don't have anyone in the area. Thanks so much for the referral though Brandon!