Bought my first Investment Property 20% down at the age of 22

[Drew Z.]

I just closed on my very first investment property today!

I have been saving up, and with a good job, I was able to put over 20% down on a property valued at over $ 200,000 at the age of 22. I originally wanted to start my real estate portfolio with a multi-family property, but I soon realized it might be in my best interest to start small, in case I need to learn from mistakes on this purchase.

The property is a cute 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo directly on the beach. I wasn't really planning on buying a condo for my first investment, but when I saw the price and checked out the comps, I realized there was no way I could lose money, even if I'm breaking even on rent versus mortgage payments. I genuinely want to hold on to it for as long as needed and rent it out, because I believe the area has excellent potential for appreciation.

Does anyone have any tips? Tricks, or advice about finding your first tenant? Or, do you have any advice on which site/app to post my rental listing on? I also understand the tenant screening process is absolutely vital to ensure they are a quality tenant who will make payments.

Over the next two years, my goal is to take out a HELOC on the property and apply what I've learned from my first purchase to a multi-family unit in the range of $400k-$500k. Any advice or stories about going the HELOC route would also be invaluable.

[Jules Aton]

Hi, congratulations on your first purchase! While a condo comes with unique considerations as compared to a SFH or townhouse I would think more manageable than a multifamily for first purchase. Where is it? Beach RE especially oceanfront is very rentable and due to the finite supply tends to hold value nicely although it sounds like areas in FL are currently precarious. Hopefully you will be able to rent for more than mortgage and expenses because it is important to make a return on your time, down payment and enough to cover expenses. Keep a close eye on re-sale value, regulations, fees and insurance because those will be your Achilles heel.