All Forum Posts by: Trey Washington

@Roy Morris Absolutely! I would have taken the renovation much slower than I did. I went in the first day and just gutted the whole house. It was pretty overwhelming jumping from project to project. On the next house, I’ll definitely work in sections.

I’m a 28 year old foundry worker in Iowa with a big interest in real estate, becoming a landlord to be more specific. Last summer, I took my first real step to financial freedom and purchased my first home as a birthday present. It was a foreclosure valued at $180k but listed at $135k. It’s a 3 bd 1 ba home with just under 1700 sq ft. with a full unfinished basement. The house sits on a .51 acre lot with a very generous back yard.

I ended up purchasing it for $121k and used a local first time homebuyer program. When closing cost case around, I was actually given a refund. Lucky me. The bank appraised it at $125k, of course. I immediately started cleaning up the place, there were cobwebs everywhere and the place smelled really bad due to urine soiled carpet throughout. I tore out the weird fireplace brick, painted almost every room, tore out all the carpet and started tearing out the wall between the kitchen and dining room.

Everything was going great! I resumed my travel schedule, work was going great and life was wonderful. Then we had some terrible rain and the ceiling in my daughters room fell in, completely ruining her wood floors that was under the carpet. It was hell trying to find a contractor to patch up the roof before winter. Luckily I got it patched and the ceiling fixed. I’m doing most of the small work myself when I have the time. I work overnights at my job and have to sleep while my daughter is at school or else it’ll be no sleep at all.

Since purchasing the house, it’s value has appreciated to approximately $149k, so that’s exciting. I’ve put about $2500 worth of work into it so far. I’m doing everything out of pocket, so I save what I can and put it towards the next project. In total, my renovation will be about $30k-$40k depending on how many times I change my mind on things here and there. It’s been 8 months and I couldn’t be happier with the process. I know one day I’ll have the money to just throw at a renovation and get it done in a shorter amount of time, but for right now, I’m going to enjoy the journey. Follow along.

@Derek Johnson I've been there for 5 years. I wish there was some way to post a picture of my list, that book is on there as well. 

I actually have a long list of suggested books I've written down from the podcast. UBG is on there, but I'm currently reading one of the most popular ones. Rich Dad, Poor dad. Thank you for the response.

Hello to all BP members, My name is Trey Washington. I currently reside in Waterloo, Iowa and I'm interested in buy and hold real estate investing, mainly multi family. I've used BP for years now and finally decided to become a member recently. I'm an avid podcast listener (as I am listening to show 222 right now), because my thirst for knowledge is one of my additions. I am currently employed in a Foundry for John Deere and a full time student studying Sustainable Construction and Design. This is part of my plan as I want to do most rehabs myself. I seek to get started buying my multi family property and snowballing into financial freedom. Any knowledge and/or potential partners will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading, I look forward to hearing from you.

I'd advise you to get familiar with the fair housing act, because excluding anyone from your rentals is a direct violation and could lead to the seizure of your property and jail time.

Please forgive me if this has been stated already. This is ABSOLUTELY against federal law to deny legal gun owners the right to protect their dwelling. Granted, it's your business, but it's their residence and that that's precedence over your business on a federal level, never mind state laws. You can find yourself in a federal court and that's no good for either party.