A lot of new investors focus heavily on finding the “perfect deal.”

But where I see most first deals go sideways is actually the financing side.

A few common things that come up:

• Underestimating total cash needed (closing, reserves, overruns)
• Assuming they’ll refinance quickly without understanding lender requirements
• Not matching the loan to the strategy (short-term vs long-term hold)

The deal might look good but if the structure doesn’t line up, it creates problems pretty fast.

The smoother first deals I see are usually the ones where the investor:

• Plans for extra time and capital
• Understands the exit before closing
• Keeps the structure simple

First deal doesn’t need to be perfect it just needs to work without surprises.

Curious what caught you off guard on your first deal?