How did you acquire your first investment property?

Question

A lot of times you hear "the first one is always the toughest one" and I find that to be very true!

My first rental property was a house hack that I purchased long distance in CO while I was in PA. I was able to find a realtor through BiggerPockets Agent Finder and close on the property remotely! There was so much fear as the process of being under contract was a completely new beast to me! Now that I have been under contract for other properties and been through the process a couple times, I have been able to overcome my initial fears and be better prepared.

If you haven't acquired your first property, what are your biggest fears?

Please discuss and let's see how we can help each other!!

Steven Foster Wilson · Answer

Hey Noah, when I got started investing in my sophomore year of college, I had $500 to my name, My grandmother lent me $12k for the downpayment on a duplex on OSU campus in Columbus. Over the course of a year my wife and I fixed it up, rented to friends, ate peanut butter and jelly, did everything we could. We then refinanced the property and it has given us $140k in cash back and continually produces $1,800/month in cash flow.

Keep pushing to achieve your goals it will be only good things for your future! All the best!

Juan Munoz · Answer

I purchased a condo in 2017 where I lived until December of 2021 after I moved out to a house I bought with my now wife. At that time I started learning about rental property and became interested in the idea of becoming a landlord and having some extra cash flow, so thats what we did. We rented out the condo in Feb of 2022 and I've lucked out with a great tenant so far, she's now extended the lease for a second year and things are going great.

Now, we want to get another rental property and start building out our portfolio of rentals. Thats where we've hit a wall. The main issue at the moment is how do we finance for that new property? We have saved about 15k to put down and I'm looking at other 1 bedroom condos like the one I own in the range of 150 to 200k.

I've read about contacting local credit unions to see what offerings they have for rental property investment. Is that a good place to start or what other options would you recommend?

Thanks, and looking forward for any advice!

Alex L. · Answer

My first property was a quarter mile from my house, a bank foreclosure. Bought it in cash and BRRRR using a personal loan from Discover. I was early 20s and working at a call center at the time and didn't have the capital, but I had the credit and knew that after all costs and expenses I'd be pocketing an extra $250/mo. Now with inflation and whatnot, it's more like an extra $600/mo. Learned a lot from just jumping in head first and not sitting on the sidelines or looking for a "mentor." Google exists and pretty much every question someone new to the game might have has already been asked.

How did you acquire your first investment property?

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