Closed on my First Deal!!

Closed on my First Deal!!

Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes

So I finally competed my first deal!

Since finding BP 3 years ago, I knew I would start a business in Real Estate at some point. At the time I didn’t have any money saved up and all I had was time. So I put a plan together to save up enough for a down payment. In the meantime, I did nothing but read books, listen to audiobooks, and listen to Podcasts.

I feel a big part of my success was because of BP so it’s only right that I share the details of my first deal. I had been looking at several properties in the NC area and found a Duplex for sale. It was 3 beds 2 baths on both sides and built in 2008. It was listed for sale at $169,000 and had renters in place bringing in $1500.00 per month. Home appraised for (179K)

$750 per side was about the average rent for this part of NC. I had analyzed countless properties in the area so I felt comfortable with that amount being collected. After some further research, I found out that it was an estate sale. I then looked at the public record to see if they had refinanced the property at all and didn’t find anything. I determined that they owed about 85K on the property.

From this point, I thought  a good opening bid would be $125K. They declined, and after brief negotiations we settled on $132K.

(Disclaimer) I know I may have made some mistakes but I’m willing to work through them.

Rent Collected $1500

Mortgage -$675

Property Management -$150

Vacancy -$75

Repairs -$75

Liability Insurance -$27

HVAC -$25

Roof -$35

Cash Flow $438 per month

20% Down Payment $26,400

30 year terms

Cash Flow Yield 19% (438 x 12 = 5,256/26,400)

ROI 22%

Note: When they countered to 145K, I got some great advise from @Michael Lee to tell then why I was offering a lower price and give my reasoning... IT WORKED!!  Thank you Michael for your help. 

I'm officially off the sidelines!

If anyone would have handled this differently, I would love to know.

Thanks

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Garden Grove, CA · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 2 votes
10y

nice job and thank you for sharing your first deal. I'm in the same boat as you 3 years ago. I'm now thinking about investing in about 2-3 years. While I save up my funds I'll be spending a lot of time here, listening to podcasts and reading books. I hope you have many more successful deals in the near future.

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  • Garden Grove, CA · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    nice job and thank you for sharing your first deal. I'm in the same boat as you 3 years ago. I'm now thinking about investing in about 2-3 years. While I save up my funds I'll be spending a lot of time here, listening to podcasts and reading books. I hope you have many more successful deals in the near future.

  • Investor · Morehead City, NC · Member since 2015 · 99 posts · 32 votes
    10y
    Mike Mead congratulations! Nice work getting that first deal out of the way!
  • Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2016 · 214 posts · 58 votes
    10y

    Good work, thanks for providing the numbers!

  • Real Estate Agent · Burlington, MA · Member since 2015 · 43 posts · 20 votes
    10y

    I like to be extra safe and put aside 20% of gross rent for vacancies/maintenance/repairs. Congratulations!!

  • Statesboro, GA · Member since 2016 · 44 posts · 13 votes
    10y
    I'm extremely new to real estate investing so bare with my lack of knowledge. Why is there a vacancy expense of $75/month? Also, I was thinking that if I would invest in a rental property. I would go with a 10 or 15 year fixed rate mortgage so that I can build up equity in the property quicker. I know that eats into cash flow severely and that there needs to be money saved in case the property goes vacant (that's what I think the vacancy expense is for). Has anyone had experience with doing a shorter term mortgage (10 or 15 year) and have any knowledge they want to share?
  • Rental Property Investor · Fayetteville, NC · Member since 2016 · 67 posts · 37 votes
    10y

    Great!!  Look forward to reading more success stories.  Planning to buy my first invest prop in a couple of yrs. 

  • Investor · Leesburg, FL · Member since 2014 · 73 posts · 86 votes
    10y

    @Ryan Beasley 

    The vacancy expense is not a realized expense every month, but rather money that is put away for expenses when there happens to be a period of vacancy.

    Also, it terms of the mortgage. You can look to take out a 30 yr fixed for flexibility during down times or when you need the cash flow for other reasons. When you don't, you can look towards paying off the property. Its more of a flexibility thing for me anyway. 

  • Johnson City, TN · Member since 2014 · 140 posts · 133 votes
    10y

    Congratulations @

    @Jay Patel I hope you continue to prosper! Are you in FL but purchased your property in NC?

  • Investor · Leesburg, FL · Member since 2014 · 73 posts · 86 votes
    10y

    @Skylar Dejesus I believe you are mistaking me with the original poster who lives and invests in NC. I however do live and invest in FL :)

  • San Antonio, TX · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 6 votes
    10y

    Grats!!

    If you don't mind...Did the provided justification to lower include something in the numbers or was it something unconsidered in the property itself?

  • Statesboro, GA · Member since 2016 · 44 posts · 13 votes
    10y
    Thanks for the clarification Jay Patel !
  • Statesboro, GA · Member since 2016 · 44 posts · 13 votes
    10y
    Thanks for putting these numbers out here, been looking for some real-life expenses.
  • Vancouver, WA · Member since 2015 · 98 posts · 46 votes
    10y

    Love the continuous grind of just slowly accumulating the capital needed but also capitalizing on knowledge over the 3 years it took you to land your first deal. You're definitely in a better spot than you were 3 years ago! 

    @Mike Mead

  • Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Ted Vu:

    nice job and thank you for sharing your first deal. I'm in the same boat as you 3 years ago. I'm now thinking about investing in about 2-3 years. While I save up my funds I'll be spending a lot of time here, listening to podcasts and reading books. I hope you have many more successful deals in the near future.

     Best of luck to you. It is definitely worth the wait. Thank you so much! 

  • Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @John Suralik:

    Mike Mead congratulations! Nice work getting that first deal out of the way!

    Thank you!

  • Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Ryan Beasley:

    I'm extremely new to real estate investing so bare with my lack of knowledge.

    Why is there a vacancy expense of $75/month?

    Also, I was thinking that if I would invest in a rental property. I would go with a 10 or 15 year fixed rate mortgage so that I can build up equity in the property quicker. I know that eats into cash flow severely and that there needs to be money saved in case the property goes vacant (that's what I think the vacancy expense is for).

    Has anyone had experience with doing a shorter term mortgage (10 or 15 year) and have any knowledge they want to share?

    Hi Ryan, I think the Vacancy expense was already mentioned by Jay Patel. To add to that, I wanted to air on the side of caution in case they were both vacant at the same time (Which I don't anticipate happening). Also, I decided to do the 30 year mortgage for the increase in cash flow. I plan to hold my properties long term. My rationale is that if I use the same formula for all my properties I can make my systems more efficient therefore scaleable.

  • Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Dean Carter:

    Great!!  Look forward to reading more success stories.  Planning to buy my first invest prop in a couple of yrs. 

    Good Luck to you. You can never learn enough about this business. Thank you Dean

  • Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Theodore Freeman:

    Grats!!

    If you don't mind...Did the provided justification to lower include something in the numbers or was it something unconsidered in the property itself?

    Hi Theodore, Good Question. I told them from the start I was an investor and that the numbers had to fit my strict criteria (15-20% below market value, 20% down, and cash flow of 200/per door). I then discovered that the property required Wind and Hail insurance because it was so close to the Coastline. That ate directly into my cash flow which required me to lower how much I could offer. The Hot Water tanks (While still functioning) were at least 8 years old and I anticipated a replacement on those right away. So I actually worked the numbers backwards until I arrived at $200/door. I felt that if I bought it right, the market would tell me what I could offer. I hope this helps.

  • Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Rapy Narruhn:

    Love the continuous grind of just slowly accumulating the capital needed but also capitalizing on knowledge over the 3 years it took you to land your first deal. You're definitely in a better spot than you were 3 years ago! 

    @Mike Mead

    Thank you because I certainly felt like it was a grind. Just had to keep looking past where I was to where I wanted to be.

  • Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Russell Naylor:

    Good work, thanks for providing the numbers!

    No problem Russell, Thank you!

  • Rocky Mount, NC · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Ryan Beasley:

    Thanks for putting these numbers out here, been looking for some real-life expenses.

     No Problem, The one issue I ran into that I forgot to mention was that they couldn't find any comps for duplexes in my area. I ended up getting two separate loans for each side of my duplex. Most of the numbers worked out except the insurance. I originally had $2500 deductible on the duplex as a whole. When I split the mortgage up that turned into a deductible of $2500 per side ($5000) total. Because of the bank I was using, they didn't allow more than a $3,000 deductible on a property.

    Long story short, I had to get a $1000 deductible on both sides which raised my premium and overall mortgage cost  by $60.00. However, the numbers still worked so I moved forward.

  • Cocoa, FL · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 6 votes
    10y

    @Mike Mead Congrats on your first deal. As someone who is very new to REI; its great to see the details. Thanks for sharing.

  • Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 6 votes
    10y

    Congrats

  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 40 posts · 24 votes
    10y
    Congratulations and great work. It shows that you did your homework!
  • Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2015 · 172 posts · 30 votes
    10y

    Congrat's... Can't wait to read more of your success stories.

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