First home purchase and start of REI career

First home purchase and start of REI career

Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 4 votes

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Okoboji.

Purchase price: $130,000
Cash invested: $29,990

Humble triplex located outside of downtown Greensboro

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Finding an off-market deal and the possibility of living for free!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A good friend's father notified me one day that he had a 2/1 unit available for rent close to the apartment I was currently living at and it was less than what I was paying. My lease wasn't up for another 4 months but he was happy to hold it for me because he knew I'd be a stress free tenant. I rented for 6 months and worked 2 jobs then to save up a 23% down payment. He agreed to seller financing at 2.4% interest with a 20yr note and this allowed me to put the property under an LLC.

How did you finance this deal?

Seller financing

How did you add value to the deal?

I bought the property as-is and completed the deferred maintenance/repairs over the following months (new window a/c units, new gravel driveway, bathroom remodel, etc.)

What was the outcome?

I was almost able to live for free but because water and electricity are included for renters, I was paying just shy of $400/mo during the hottest summer months when all way said and done.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

A quality home inspection is worth it but the bigger lesson to me was the value of networking.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I'm very thankful for Nigel Nelson, a fellow investor, agent, and owner of Easy Homes LLC, for helping navigate my first home purchase and save on some closing costs.

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Henry ClarkPro Member
Developer · Member since 2020 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
3y

Congratulations.  Home run on the first pitch. 5 years from now you look back and say wow, how did I get here.   Congratulations. 

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  • Henry ClarkPro Member
    Developer · Member since 2020 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    3y

    Congratulations.  Home run on the first pitch. 5 years from now you look back and say wow, how did I get here.   Congratulations. 

  • Justin BrickmanBusiness Member
    Realtor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2021 · 502 posts · 274 votes
    3y

    Congratulations! Love to see it

  • Christian SharronPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 4 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Account Closed:

    From a scale of 1-10 how was your financing for these project?


     Good afternoon,

    I’m not quite sure I understand your question. Are you asking how my experience has been with seller financing?  If so, I’ve been very happy with it. This was is 2021 though, close to the peak of that housing market so I think he agreed to those terms because of our long-standing relationship.

  • Jewel B.Pro Member
    New to Real Estate · Lehigh Valley, PA · Member since 2021 · 352 posts · 120 votes
    3y

    Congratulations! Something to keep in mind is Budget Billing for utilities. It evens out the annual costs so you pay a flat monthly rate and avoid those big swings or variations.

  • Christian SharronPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 4 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Jewel B.:

    Congratulations! Something to keep in mind is Budget Billing for utilities. It evens out the annual costs so you pay a flat monthly rate and avoid those big swings or variations.

    I haven’t thought about that thanks!
  • Investor · Central Virginia · Member since 2020 · 394 posts · 253 votes
    3y

    HI @Christian Sharron, what was the initial rents you received? What was the CoC return?

  • Wale LawalBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3y

    @Christian Sharron

    Congrats!

    Get as much knowledge and experience as possible and find a mentor.

    Join real estate investment clubs.

    Have a team of real estate professionals that will shorten your learning curve and save you a lot of headaches as they tend to understand the market better.

    All the best!

  • Christian SharronPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2023 · 7 posts · 4 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Chris Webb:

    HI @Christian Sharron, what was the initial rents you received? What was the CoC return?

    Initial rents were pretty significantly discounted. $400/mo for the top unit (1/1). $600 for the 2/1 unit I was living in (charging $300 to a roommate) and $360 for bottom 2/1 unit with a yard, more parking, and a shed…

    Using a 10% vacancy rate, 4% for capex, 12% for maintenance, and sticking with ~ $400 for utilities during the hottest months (pretending that was the cost year round), I was seeing a -10.65% CoC return and 2.2% cap rate according to my numbers when I first took over. Fortunately I was able to do some work myself and with friends so that helped
  • Investor · Central Virginia · Member since 2020 · 394 posts · 253 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Christian Sharron:
    Quote from @Chris Webb:

    HI @Christian Sharron, what was the initial rents you received? What was the CoC return?

    Initial rents were pretty significantly discounted. $400/mo for the top unit (1/1). $600 for the 2/1 unit I was living in (charging $300 to a roommate) and $360 for bottom 2/1 unit with a yard, more parking, and a shed…

    Using a 10% vacancy rate, 4% for capex, 12% for maintenance, and sticking with ~ $400 for utilities during the hottest months (pretending that was the cost year round), I was seeing a -10.65% CoC return and 2.2% cap rate according to my numbers when I first took over. Fortunately I was able to do some work myself and with friends so that helped

    very good, keep it up!!
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