My small but big win

[Sean Poulos]

Sorry, long post. 
Today, I viewed my first property for a potential investment. A wholesaler listed a triplex for $227,000. I decided to, for the first time, get some courage and say I was interested. Not too sure what that would lead to, but figured nothing would hurt. 
I was given some information, pictures and an address. A 3bd 1ba, and two 2bd 1ba. The 3bd was recently vacant, one of the 2bd was renting for $550, and the other $1,050. Well below market! The pictures were terrible, with no way of knowing which picture went to which unit. But it was clear some work to fix it up would be required. I left the message on read while doing some research, and a couple days later the wholesaler followed up and asked if I would like to view it the next day (today). Nervously, I spoke it over with the wife and got her convinced to check it out with me. On paper, sounded too good to be true. 
The next day and a short 25 minute drive later we arrive at the scheduled time, but peculiarly the wholesaler said they wouldn't be there and was very specific to tell me to only tell the tenant that we were just there to inspect. As a newbie, didn't think much of it but I found it interesting. As I show up another car pulls in soon after, a gentleman who is doing the same thing I was! 
We avoid the chained up rottweiler from one of the units, and go together and knock on one of the other units, and a lady and her daughter were unexpecting us at that time, but knew of the situation so they invited us in. We get greeted by 1 of their 2 medium sized dogs, plus several cats. We only get into the kitchen and start asking questions about the condition. The floor was unlevel (and had been for 10 years), countertops cracked and unsecure, and all around the living quarters were very gross and highly outdated. The mother gives us information on the condition of their unit, and shared little of what they knew of the others. The gentleman that rolled in with us confessed he was a contractor and thus was asking the majority of the questions, fine by me. I know enough to know the amount of work needed for this place, even only seeing a tiny amount. We then get shown outside and in a part of the basement below to a shared "maintenance" storage area where the water heaters were. This was also near the other tenant's place, who also had a dog barking at us from inside. Inside the maintenance area, we are shown the still unpatched hole in the ceiling from a water leak the tenant said had happened years prior from her tub, the leak was fixed but that was it. Clearly this landlord was not properly addressing the many unresolved and unfinished problems with this property. A slumlord indeed. It was a sad, sad situation. Turns out the "triplex" was really once a 8bd 3ba house that was split into a two 3bd 1ba and one 2bd 1ba. All utilities were paid by the owner, which made sense, but turned me off all the further. 
We didn't see anything else inside. The exterior was heavily weathered, with the only thing updated being the roof from 6 years prior. Two porches were not properly secured, one of the steps was barely even on, and one of the support posts was on a slab of concrete that had erosion underneath of it. The alleged contractor with me even had stated this house should be condemned, even to the tenants! 
For a first time investment, this was way over my head. I don't have the capital to invest likely hundreds of thousands into what's likely required to bring this place up to code, even with the little that I saw. But I took away the visit as a huge accomplishment and success in my journey. I know others will come my way. I informed the wholesaler I was not interested in this one, but to let me know if anything else comes up. I wish I could help these tenants, and I hope someone more qualified does. Someday, I'll be able to. 
Thanks for reading.

[Denise Supplee]

That's great @Sean Poulos! You did exactly what a lot of new investors struggle to do, you took action, got in front of a real deal, and more importantly, you walked away when it didn’t make sense. That’s a skill.

From what you described, you picked up on the right red flags too. That’s not a beginner deal, that’s a full reposition project. The fact that you didn’t force it is exactly how you protect yourself early on.