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Thomas Bybee
  • Investor
  • Gillette, WY
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New member in Wyoming

Thomas Bybee
  • Investor
  • Gillette, WY
Posted Jul 27 2015, 21:00

Hi everyone,

I'm excited to introduce myself, and I'm looking forward to discussing RE with all of you in the future. I am a beginner investor in Gillette, WY area. I have studied RE for some time by reading books, attending free seminars (sales pitches), reading and listening to material here on BP.

My investing journey began last year. I've been wanting to invest for many years but had the common analysis paralysis and just fear of failure or success (haven't figured out which one).  I finally made the leap and paid my "tuition to the school of hard knocks" last year when I purchased a singlewide mobile home to repair and rent. It was quite the adventure but I'm so glad I finally just did something...its changed my life.

Details on first deal:

Bought an older 1970's single wide mobile home for cash for $6K (asking price was $9K) I was proud of myself for negotiating $3K off price but looking back I should have negotiated more, even though I never lost money on this deal in the end.  The MH needed some repairs although some of it had already been renovated. I put about $2K into repairs and got it rented within a couple weeks. I rented for $950/mo and lot rent was $350. This was way more than I thought a MH would or should rent for, but through my research that was going rate for single-wides in the area. I learned a lot and made plenty of mistakes (mostly in tenant choice) early on and ended up having to evict my first tenant  after 3rd month.  Luckily she moved out without destroying the place or without fight. The property was still in bad shape after my minimal repairs and was about an hour from where I live so after my experience with bad tenant, I decided to cut my losses (even though technically I didn't have any) and sell it. I sold it shortly after for $9K. I knew it was only a short amount of time before this place was going to cost me an amount more than I was willing to spend on it.  I replaced it with another singlewide MH close to where I lived which was in much better shape and rent it for similar numbers.

Mobile homes might not have best reputation among investors but I have to give them credit where credit is due. I probably wouldn't have made the first step into REI without the cheap mobile home, it gave me a "baby step" that I felt comfortable with for my first deal. I don't know if I could have talked myself out of my fear if my first deal would have been much bigger. It worked out as a great way to get me started.

Since then I have bought a foreclosure (not MH), repaired it and moved into it with built in equity....bonus (upgraded from my first home) and rented my old house. I've felt lucky that all of my RE ventures thus far have gone somewhat well ( I went in expecting nightmares but was willing to give it a try anyways) and changed my financial outlook and attitude in life. I enjoy being creative in RE transactions and solving problems as they come up. I'm looking forward to many more deals in my future. I appreciate the info I've found on BP and look forward to associating with all of you.

I feel fairly comfortable in the mobile home strategy in my area at this point, but look to expand into different areas in RE as I diversify my portfolio in the near future.

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