What is your REI hisory

Question

I wanted to create a thread, almost like a miniature study/survey. I would like to field responses from those individuals on BP who have a relatively long history in REI. I am not going to set any criteria (investing for 10+ years, or 25+ properties, etc.), but I also am not interested in response from those with only one or two deals under their belt.

My purpose is this, I want to hear everyones background, how your first got intereted in the field or where you were prior to starting REI, how you got started and what was your first deal, how has your REI strategy progressed throughout you REI career, and what is your current strategy and your outlook for REI investing into the future. Please be thorough in detailing your "timeline" and history in REI and your views with a focus on STRATEGY; Brevity is most certainly appreciated, I am not looking for an autobiography.
 
I am old enough now to realize that the wisdom of age and experience often times can simply not be replaced. But I wanted to start a convo with experienced REI investors to see if there are common themes, threads, and lessons that can be drawn from your combined experiences. Please make emphasis of what strategy you pursued at different times and why, and make sure to carry your thoughts forward into where you think the best opportunities will be in the future.

I am a young guy and would love to pick all of your brains, but without being able to do so, I thought this might be the next best thing and an interesting thread at least.

Jon Klaus · Answer

1989 -- Bought (FHA mortgage) my first home to live in with lawn mowing money.

1992-1993 -- Bought a few homes via VA auction and assuming mortgages, and flipped all but one.

1992-2004 -- Bought and held one town home in a near war zone.  It was a negative experience, though the cash flow on paper looked good.

2003  --  Bought a SFR (my residence) on land.  I've improved the home and land, and may divide the land in the future.

2008 --  Bought a small office building.  Also bought and rehabbed a SFR.  Still have both.

2009-2010 --  Bought 15 SFRs.  Holding most of them.

I'll leave strategy for future posts.

Mark Updegraff · Answer

Hey Jimmy, 
You left out the part about your history! ;-)

I've been investing in RE for 3 years
My strategy when I started was buy / hold for the long term.  My first SFR was cheap (55k) and I put about 10K into renovating it nice.   
As I bought more, my grouping of property became closer to create a convenient turn-key package portfolio 
I've created a REI LLC.  I'm closing my 10th deal tomorrow.
I've only ever had .5 months vacancy total since each unit was placed in service, so I must be doing something right :D

I'm still long on RE.

My background is in Color Science, Imaging Science, and Technical Photography.

My aspirations include RE development.

I'm not the most seasoned vet, but thought I would share anyway.

Cheers,
Mark

Jimmy H. · Answer

Thanks for the respose Mark. 
What made you choose to delve initially into SFR's? Just something to get started and get your feet wet?

My REI history began with me watching "flip that house" and similar shows. It was 2007 going into 2008 timeframe that I purchased a 60k SFr, rehabbed and sold it for 90k and profitted marginally after all was said and done. I then decided to purchase a duplex on the local university campus. Since then I sold the duplex in order to purchase an upscale SFR in need of rennovating for my own personal residence. I feel that my focus shifted from income investing to realizing that I, myself, was still a renter. Now that I have a home, I want to pursue cash flow opportunities again.

I see the most profit potential in finding 5+ multi-family and apartment REO's that need rennovation and/or have been sitting on the bank books for a while. I plan to find a deal where the bank is willing to finance nearly 100% and use my funds for rehab. I want to stabilize the property and then refinance it within a year to get all of my investment back out after I have successfully executed a value added scenario. Then I want to take this capital and move on to a similar deal, depending on where I see the best opportunity at the time.