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Real Estate Deal Analysis & Advice

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Laura Bowler
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My First Investment!

Laura Bowler
Posted Sep 19 2019, 14:17

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $30,000
Cash invested: $30,000

Purchased single family home with section 8 tenant occupied. Need about $3-5K in repairs, and is now functionally smoothly (and is up to code!)

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

Really wanted to get out there and start investing! Deal made a lot of sense in terms of cash flow, but the house price was also quite low (so I wasn't worried about the market crashing) and we had the cash on hand.

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

Found it online and worked with a realtor to get the showing. Started with an offer 10% under asking price and it was immediately accepted.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

What was the outcome?

Property took about 6 months to fix up with a tenant in place and initially we had to invest a bit more to get it up to code. Everything is fixed now, and property has been smoothly operating for a month. Based on last six months, cash flow will be around $300 a month, and will increase if we are able to successfully negotiate a section 8 rent increase (in progress).

Lessons learned? Challenges?

It's hard to fix a property up with a full time job AND a tenant in place. We know better what to look for, and learned first hand all the things needed to pass the Inkster city inspection.

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Bryan Fean
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Wilmington, DE
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Bryan Fean
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Wilmington, DE
Replied Sep 25 2019, 04:50

@Laura Bowler

Nice job. Keep it going!

Where is the property located?

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Laura Bowler
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Laura Bowler
Replied Sep 25 2019, 11:46

Thanks! It's located in Inkster MI. Definitely a lower income market, but I'm in the Michigan area, so it was a great place to get started close to home (low house prices, good rental community, solid returns).

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Saravanan Saravanan
  • Lender
  • Troy, MI
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Saravanan Saravanan
  • Lender
  • Troy, MI
Replied Oct 8 2019, 08:45

@Laura Bowler Congratulations on your rental that you managed to work along with your full-time career.

Continue your journey to add one at a time and before you know it, the part-time income might surpass your full time.

We have handful of properties in Inkster too :)

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Matthew Reichert
  • Manassas, VA
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Matthew Reichert
  • Manassas, VA
Replied Oct 8 2019, 10:55

Inkster looks like such a nice place. I was working with an agent out there, but when I started asking about being able to actually tour the properties he was suggesting, he said "investors just buy these for the numbers." When I pressed a bit more, he just ghosted me. 

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Brent Paul
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Shakopee, MN
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Brent Paul
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Shakopee, MN
Replied Oct 8 2019, 19:28

What a great way to get started.  Paying all cash gives you a little more peace of mind not having to worry about a mortgage.

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Laura Bowler
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Laura Bowler
Replied Oct 11 2019, 11:57

I totally agree! Cash is really nice (although obviously you can do a lot more leveraging other people's money).

@Matthew Reichert I had a bit of difficulty finding a good realtor to show me properties in Inkster, and I've definitely noticed the level of care / effort landlords take with their houses here is not as high. I'm in the process of closing my second property, and it's definitely been frustrating dealing with some of these people who clearly are only in it for the numbers. I would always recommend looking at properties in Inkster in person. I've probably been in about 20-30, and the pictures never really show the story. I've seen everything from holes in the ceiling / roof to holes in the exterior wall to furnaces ripped out. My favorite was the vacant house with a dog locked in a bedroom and the squatter. The market holds a lot of opportunity (in my opinion), but I would always look in person!

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Replied Jun 9 2020, 11:32

I'm looking at a house in Inkster later today. Now that you've been able to get comfortable in Inkster, what can you tell me about investing in Inkster? Give me the good and the bad please.