Bought my first rental property

[Seth B.]

Hi, my name is Seth and I am new to BP.

I just closed on my first rental property and wanted to get some feedback from people on weather they thought it was a good buy for a first timer.

The property is a duplex built in 2007. Over all it's in very good condition, just a few minor repairs needed (maybe $2,000 worth of repairs). Each side is 1,050 sqft with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathroom per unit. They had tenants in place when I purchased it. One of the tenants has been there for a long time so that persons rent is below market. The other tenant has also been there a long time. One unit rents for $750/month and the other rents for $650/month. So total rent per month is $1,400.00 I paid $85,000 for it (it sold new in 2007 for $154,000). I put 25% down and my monthly mortgage payment including taxes and insurance is $550.00/month. I purchased the property in another state so I have a property management company managing it. They charge 7%, so about $98.00/month. The tenants pay all utilities including water and garbage.

So what do people think about the numbers? It was my first rental property purchase, so I hope I did ok.

I want to buy more rentals over time. But if I had to put 25% down out of my own pocket each time I would not be able to buy more as quickly as I would like to. I have learned a lot reading BP forums on other ways to finance rental properties with less money down. So I may look into a few of them.

[Jeff Bridges]

looks like 35% Cash on cash return each year assuming your repair estimates are correct (that's even assuming 8% vacancy). Doesn't look bad at all in my eyes. Beats the stock market with consistent returns by alot too:) nice job! Consider building reserves for the anticipated repairs you mentioned, then a 6 month operating reserve for that property, then using all proceeds above that for your next investment. just a thought...