I've got some free time today which is very unusual for me, so I thought I would post about my REI journey so far and maybe make some more connections and give someone a little motivation. I'm going to post this as a timeline to make it easier to follow.

3 months prior to getting my first deal I listened to BP podcasts everyday, watched Youtube videos of investors, and liquidated all the funds that I could.

04/2017- After researching and learning about REI, I finally got my first SFR at the auction for $89,000. I was only able to check the house out prior to the auction just from the outside. It was a 3/1.5 all brick with a newer roof. It looked really good. The rent range was around $1100/mo. Peeking in the windows, I discovered brand new pergo flooring. I figured this was a no brainer right? Well after the purchase and getting inside, it was a disaster in there and the smell from the 2 over flowing litter boxes was horrible! Since this was our first property, I decided to do all the work myself to save some money and to learn more about the rehab process. The previous owner pretty much just left everything behind. We were able to sell some of the stuff but a lot of it was junk. I spent the next 6 months rehabing this house. Why did it take so long? I was still working my 8-5 (more like 6-3) and then working on the house when I got off. So a lot of days I was putting in 14-18 hours a day. I am married and have 3 daughters, so it was hard to be gone all the time but it was a sacrifice I endured to get out of the rat race and eventually have more time with my family down the road. I spent a total of $10,000 on the rehab which included all new vinyl plank flooring, new kitchen, paint inside and outside soffits/gutters (I contracted this out), some updated electric and plumbing, and new vanities in the bathrooms. So after the 6 months of rehab, I learned a ton and was ready to have it rented out. During the interviews of applicants, I meet a single mom looking for a new place to live. She already lived in the area so I asked why she was moving. Her ex-husband took all the money out of the accounts and left town and left her with no money to pay the mortgage. After finding out her house was going up for auction the next week, I took a very risky move and told her I was going to try and buy her house to keep her there. And that's what I did the next week. I bought her house for $109,000 in 10/2017. It only needed a few minor fixes. Her rent with me is $1225 which was the same she was paying before. I'm sure you're asking why didn't she just pay the mortgage if the rent is the same right? Well she got so far behind on the mortgage that Wells Fargo wanted a $10,000 balloon payment and she couldn't swing that. So back to the first house. I found a young married couple with a dog that rented the house for $1225.

12/2017- I put an offer on a 4/1 in Louisville and ended up getting it for $57,000. Our initial plan was to turn this into student housing since it was really close to the university but we tried the Airbnb strategy first. That was probably the best decision we made. It's been a great rental and is booked all the time. We had to fix a lot of stuff on this one and it seems like we are always improving this property. I'm currently remodeling the bathroom and putting new flooring down. To date, this is my favorite property and I'm looking to buy more for Airbnb rentals.

1/2018- Both of my grandparents passed away about 8 months ago from this date. I made arrangements with my family to buy the house. It was built in the 60's and it wasn't really updated since then. I bought this for $95,000 and the ARV at the time was $150,000. This house sat for a while before we got to remodeling it since we were busy with getting the Airbnb remodeled and furnished. Once we got around to this one, I was burnt out on doing the work myself so I hired the work out. That's when I learned a lot about contractors. I went to the good ol craigslist to find my help. Long story short, that guy quit in the middle of the project and we had to re-due almost everything he did. He was cheap and I got what I paid for. So I looked on Facebook for my next contractor. I found a good one that had good reviews from clients and they were pretty good. After it was all said and done, I went through 3 contractors to get this one finished. It's currently rented out at $1535 a month.

2/2018- Bought a house in my neighborhood to flip. Bought it at the auction for $146,000. I put about $10000 into it and sold it for $197000. I ended up with a profit of $30000. *My wife got her realtor license just in time to list this one and saved us 3%.

3/2018- A 2 story house across the street from the Airbnb hit the market for $60,000. I have my realtor call about it and it's owned by an investing group that wanted to package 4 more houses with it. All rented with $2800 in income, all SFR. I bought this for $215,000. Everything went okay with these besides some neglected maintenance. Most of these were small, low income houses. All the tenants are still there beside one that left last month and also left behind roaches, fleas, mice, and bed bugs! We are completely gutting that one now and it should be ready for rent by the end of this month. I have one more in this package that pays way below market rent that will be either signing a new lease next month or moving.

4/27- Bought a rent ready SFR in Portland. After doing a few minor updates, it's rented to a section 8 tenant for $850/mo. I'm actually considering selling this one because its the only one I have downtown and I really like having my properties close together.

10/21- Bought a off market 3/1 house that was in pretty good shape and almost rent ready for $43,000. After a week of fixing some things, it was rented for $1000/mo. This tenant has paid for 2 months and now is facing eviction. I filled for eviction on the 15th of this month. This is my first time dealing with the eviction process but it seems pretty straight forward. The court date is set for the first of February so wish me luck.

Closing statement: As of today we hold 11 rentals. It's been a busy, stressful, REWARDING ride so far. I learn every day and love talking real estate every chance I get. I can honestly say if it wasn't for the BP site, I wouldn't be where I'm at today. My goal this year is to create some more capital to buy a medium sized apartment building. I would like to do more flips but the margins are really thin on most the deals I see. I'm still working my 8-5 job that I've been at for 17 years. I'm currently looking around for another job opportunity dealing with anything to do with real estate. I'm really glad I haven't quit my job yet because I would have not been able to acquire the loans I have secured so far. Another goal of mine this year to attend more REI meeting/lunches. I went to a few last year and I always learn a lot from them. On to the next deal!!!

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