51 Units at Age 23 (& Counting)!

51 Units at Age 23 (& Counting)!

Investor · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 121 posts · 674 votes

It's been nearly 2 years since my first post "$1,300,000 Deal at Age 21 & I'm Retired!", I wanted to share an update. 

Last year, 13 months after I bought my first 20 unit apartment, I had increased the gross monthly income from $12.8K to $17.2K, that allowed me to refinance out $163K ($33K more than I initially invested).
I did this through a combination of cutting expenses, raising rents to market, implementing late fees, pet/move in fees, and adding a 21st unit. 

After the refinance, I'm still cashflowing $3K+ per month, and I have all my money out of the deal.

From hundreds of hours of podcasts & reading, I decided to shift my focus to mobile home parks (in addition to apartments). I spent over a year cold calling, talking with brokers, meeting other investors, and even door knocking at owners homes directly to find MHP deals.

Finally in January of this year, another investor I knew sent me a lead on a portfolio of 3 parks. After many meetings, we settled on a price of $750K for 2 of the parks, a 30 unit and a 13 unit + a SFH.

Both parks are on city water/sewer direct billed, excellent location with strong demand, and a lot of upside in terms of low rents, addressing deferred maintenance, etc. The plan is to stabilize & refi out within 12-18 months, then snowball the capital into future deals. Essentially, the BRRRR method applied to commercial multifamily properties.

On these 2 deals, I had the capital to take them down myself, but I decided to partner with another local investor, we formalized a partnership agreement where we split all expenses/profits/work equally.

We finally closed on the 30 unit park as of May 3rd, and the 13 unit + SFH park is closing the end of this month. Including my apartments (which I own individually), that puts my total rental unit count at 51, and on June 1st it will be 65.

The main takeaways I'd like to share are:
1. Stay focused! If you haven't done a deal yet, or it's been a while since your last one, keep searching. Every day you move closer to reaching your goal; don't stop short of finding your next great deal.
2. You're better off buying no deal than a bad deal. I analyzed, went under contract, and/or visited at least 12 other MHP deals before proceeding on these. In this market particularly, you have to be sure your numbers and assumptions are accurate.
3. If you want to be successful in a particular niche, copy others who are successful in it. Don't skimp on your education, it's an investment in yourself. I've attended multiple live events & went through training courses from both apartment & mobile home park operators. Success leaves clues; you don't have to reinvent the wheel, copy what works.

Don't wait for something to happen, go out and make it happen. 👍🏻

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Real Estate Investor · Lake Charles, LA · Member since 2009 · 271 posts · 52 votes
7y

Congratulations !! All of these deals are in your market ? Also what podcasts do u listen to regularly?

See this reply in the discussion

115 Replies

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  • Grafton, WI · Member since 2017 · 37 posts · 5 votes
    7y

    @Abraham Anderson how did you get your 1st ever property ?

  • Jackson, NJ · Member since 2017 · 7 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    @Abraham Anderson when you refinanced our your 20 unit, you say you pulled out 163k (33k more than you initially invested). Did you save up 130k to put down on the property along with your financing? I am trying to get everything in order so I can take down my first multifamily 

  • Baltimore, MD · Member since 2015 · 124 posts · 13 votes
    7y

    Congratulations this is amazing! And thank you for the inspirational message. 

  • Investor · Great Neck, NY · Member since 2016 · 679 posts · 467 votes
    7y

    @Abraham Anderson

    Awesome post and continue to focus on growth!

    @Angelo Bruno

    @Chris Pittman

    The "save and buy" method is a stale, non-practical approach to investing.  It's about finding various ways to leverage so you can purchase multiple properties.  Now what type of leverage depends on your specific financial situation.  I highly recommend researching and attending various networking events so you can meet others in the real estate investment world.  Best of luck!

  • Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    love to hear story like this wow good work abraham

  • Investor · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 121 posts · 674 votes
    7y

    @Aaron Moayed

    My apartments I (still) own in my own name, with a large insurance policy. The MHPs I own in an LLC.

    @Victor Rolon

    I've went through Jake & Gino's training courses, and Mobile Home University's courses. That, plus thousands of hours of podcasts & reading books.

    My initial thoughts on going into my first deal were, if I ran into anything I wasn't prepared for, I'd learn as I go. As long as you do the big things right (choosing the right property, not overpaying for it, getting the right financing) no mistakes you inevatibly make will hurt you too badly.

    @Tony Castronovo

    If you are wanting to grow, I would definitely look at refinancing & rolling that capital into the next deal. Interest rates are at historic lows so now is a good time to pull out capital & lock in a good rate.

    @Angelo 

    To buy a $750K deal you only need 15-20% down. I had that from personal savings & from refinancing another property I owned. Read my first thread which I linked to in the OP for more details, and feel free to ask on here any questions.

    @Damon James, see the link to my first post in the OP.

    @Chris Pittman Correct. On my first deal, I put down 10% + used equity in an office building I owned as the down payment.

  • Rental Property Investor · Fayetteville, NC · Member since 2018 · 65 posts · 43 votes
    7y

    Congrats on the new acquisitions and thanks for the very motivating words! I’m a big fan of folks that jump in and just do it.

    Cheers,

    Brian

  • Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    Congratulations

  • Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2016 · 241 posts · 86 votes
    7y

    Man that is awesome. thanks for sharing your story

  • Realtor · Berkeley Heights, NJ · Member since 2013 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    Congratulations!  I'm in the New Jersey market if you are ever looking in this area let me know!

  • Waipahu, HI · Member since 2018 · 121 posts · 81 votes
    7y

    @Abraham Anderson what was it that happened to drive you to be entrepreneurial at such a young age?  What influences guided you?  I would like to influence my son towards this path if possible.  Thanks for sharing!

  • Specialist · Arlington, VA · Member since 2018 · 29 posts · 6 votes
    7y

    Your success is inspiring. Congratulations

  • Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    Great work! Really inspiring.  Trying to scale up my business from a few flips & sidexside rentals to appartments.  Any tips?

  • Member since 2019 · 118 posts · 87 votes
    7y

    @Abraham Anderson just want to say congrats on your early success. I am glad you found your niche early in life. Hope to learn from your post im going to head over there and read it now. If you have some advice for someone just starting out please share. I do have a unique situation due to my job.

  • Gina SternPro Member
    Investor · Boca Raton, FL · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 160 votes
    7y

    Fantastic always great to read about. Keep it up @Abraham Anderson

  • Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    Great work brother and thanks for the motivation! :)

  • Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Whats great, Im sure your parents are proud. I wish I was that young again. Keep up the good work.

  • Real Estate Agent · Riverside, CA · Member since 2019 · 54 posts · 23 votes
    7y

    Wow man! This is so inspirational! and you are so young which makes it even better. Congratulations on your success and thanks for sharing the progress. If you are ever in Riverside, Ca. let me know to get together for dinner and drinks.

  • Realtor · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2019 · 76 posts · 42 votes
    7y

    That's a great report! I'd be interested to know how the performance of the apartment building vs. mobile home park turns out. Why the switch from apartments to mobiles? 

  • Rental Property Investor · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2019 · 162 posts · 72 votes
    7y

    @Abraham Anderson Thanks for sharing your story.  It is always so inspiring to see other people succeeding.  I am a beginner, and in the learning phase.  One of the things I have read is that for multi-units above 4, the financing changes to commercial and generally lenders want to lend to people with experience.  Do you have any advice on how a beginner might approach getting into there types of larger properties?  Thanks for your help!

  • Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 7 votes
    7y

    This is amazing. Congrats on your success. What an inspiration to stay focused!

  • Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    VERY inspirational and motivational!!!!!!!! 

  • Lender · Central Florida, FL · Member since 2010 · 67 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    Hi Abraham, I am interested in learning more about mobile trailer park property investment. Obviously, there must be other factors to consider when analyzing this kind of commercial property. Is there a website, book or somewhere I can learn more about this kind of investment? Thank you.

  • Member since 2019 · 42 posts · 48 votes
    7y

    Before moving into the Manufactured Housing market, read Esther Sullivan's book, Manufactured Insecurity, to understand the many implications of what it means to own the land on which an owner's home sits.  In NYS, we have been working hard to keep what are considered predatory investors out of the Manufactured Home market.  

  • Naveen PalapuraPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2018 · 6 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    Nice work! 

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