New to BiggerPockets and Multi-Family Investing

[Sean Banilivy]

Hello Everyone!,

My name is Sean and I live in New York City.  I am new to the BP community and multi-family investing.  Really excited to connect, network, learn, absorb, ask, and execute.  

Would love to hear about your first investment and what you did to execute and get it done.  

Thanks again, 

Sean 

[Joseph Cacciapaglia]

My first deal was a duplex that I bought back in 2005. I probably made 25 offers before that first one was accepted. I moved into one side with a roommate, and it already had a tenant in the other side. I bought with a VA loan, requested a seller concession, used an agent that paid a rebate, and and used some negative points from the lender to put nothing down, and actually walked away from closing with a $1,500 check. Those were the days. With my roommate and the tenant, I lived for free, until I moved out 1.5 years later. At that point, I hired a professional manager, and it cash flowed very well until I sold it a few years later. I wish I had kept it, but I really needed the capital at the time.

There were a lot of things I would have done different. I don't think I'd ever use the negative points again. The upfront cash was nice, but living with the higher payment long term wasn't great. I also wouldn't use that agent again. I've learned that most of the agents that are willing to rebate some of their fee, aren't great. Looking back, I think I could have negotiated a much better deal, if I had a better agent. She really gave me no guidance at all, and there were some big issues that we missed. Overall though, it was a great deal, and provided a ton of lessons.