Newbie Success Story: I "accidentally" bought first rental home!

Newbie Success Story: I "accidentally" bought first rental home!

West Bloomfield, MI · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 6 votes

Hi Everyone, 

I've been a lurker on BP for while, hoping to get into flips and rehabs in the Southeastern Michigan market. My brother and some of his friends have had some success flipping in the last few years and I was beginning to feel left out. :)

I decided to finally take the plunge and start looking for a deal. An investor I know was liquidating a lot of his holdings since he's trying to retire soon, so I convinced him to sell me a property on land contract because I wasn't going to qualify for a traditional loan, and I only had a little bit of money saved up to work with. 

The house was disgusting when I bought it. A fairly new home that was built in 2007, but the previous tenants had pets that they never let out to use the bathroom, and kids that liked to color on walls, etc. 

I made some mistakes, and clearly I bought too high for me to flip this property (we live and we learn). A lot of people were trying to convince me to back out and take a loss on the deal before things got out of control - especially my dad. I don't have a lot of support in this area, and no experienced mentors at this point, so the bombardment of negativity made this entire process especially difficult for me. All a mental game. 

I decided to keep the property, rehab it as best I could, and find a good tenant. A friend of mine suggested I search for Adult Foster Care Home companies in the area because he thought the layout of the house was perfect for it. So I jumped on google and searched for these companies and spent a day calling a bunch of them. Surprisingly that was all it took. I found a company that was in the midst of expansion and was interested in looking at the house. 

After doing my due diligence on the company, we worked out a two year lease to start off our new business relationship. So far they have been great, and they even helped with some of the rehab work too. I'm now leasing the property to them for $1200/month which is a lot more than I would have ever gotten from a traditional tenant. 

So, there it is. My first rental property that I bought accidentally. Does anyone have any experience in working with Adult Foster Care Home companies? I would love to hear your stories. 

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Specialist · Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2016 · 356 posts · 191 votes
10y

Way to go--smart and creative response to the situation! 

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  • Specialist · Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2016 · 356 posts · 191 votes
    10y

    Way to go--smart and creative response to the situation! 

  • Investor · Centurion, Gauteng · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 44 votes
    10y

    I cannot help you with an answer to your question but need to say - WELL DONE!!

  • Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 36 posts · 4 votes
    10y

    Great Job!

  • Investor · Wadsworth, OH · Member since 2016 · 25 posts · 11 votes
    10y

    Congratulations!!! I'm glad that one tidbit of information about Adult Foster Homes worked out for you. Just a lesson to all of us that sometime the best answer is one we may not have heard of or thought of before.

    Could you explain a little more what made your house and this company a good match?

  • Livingston County, MI · Member since 2015 · 88 posts · 23 votes
    10y
    Congrats that's awesome to hear!! Keep it up.
  • Contractor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 887 posts · 323 votes
    10y

    @Peter Zora great job. Don't have an answer to your question but thanks for posting. I just learned something new. I would have never thought of reaching out to adult foster care home companies.  And great job fighting thru all the negativity and getting the job done. I think a big part of all we do in life is mental. Definitely inspiring in my book.  

  • Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2015 · 44 posts · 6 votes
    10y

    thanks man! Congrats on the success im adding that to my tool box thats a good idea

  • Railroad Conductor / Future investor · New Baltimore, MI · Member since 2015 · 130 posts · 40 votes
    10y

    Very cool and good for you. Congrats on getting in the game. I have a friend who is also looking into starting some adult daycare style homes, seems like a rather lucrative idea. Provides a great service and pays well.

  • Bulawayo, Zimbabwe · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 253 votes
    10y

    congratulations @Peter Zora on the property.live and learn

  • West Bloomfield, MI · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 6 votes
    10y
    Thanks, everyone. I'm glad I could pass along the idea. Google is pretty amazing sometimes. :) I appreciate all of the positive feedback!
  • West Bloomfield, MI · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 6 votes
    10y
    Donald Cooley The owner of the business has been pretty open about how their business operates, and I've learned a lot from him. It does seem very lucrative, but there are a lot of regulations that have to be met as well. Overall, his company seems to be growing and a pretty solid pace.
  • West Bloomfield, MI · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 6 votes
    10y
    Christina Berry Thanks, Christina. After reaching out to the company, I learned that they like Ranch style homes with an open layout, or at least one large room for gathering. The bedrooms need to be big enough to fit two twin beds, and more than one bathroom/shower is a plus. If it sits on a corner lot, that's also a plus. My house fit the criteria, and his company was in the middle of expanding so I pitched him the idea over the phone.
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