Greetings BiggerPockets!

Just last month, I started crawling, walking (& dare I say running) towards being a new real estate investor! Last night, I was reading the Morris Invest Case Study 2.0 (@tyler jahnke) and not only was it enlightening to see the trials and tribulations of his journey but it was astounding to see how the BiggerPockets community got so involved in the comment threads and how helpful everyone is. Truly incredible!

A little background about me: I work in a real estate development company as a Design & Construction Manager keeping an eye on Architects/Engineers and Contractors but I don't really work on the front end with Acquisitions, Proformas, etc. so investing is generally new to me but I learn quick :)

So, my journey begins...

Oct (week 3) - I began spending hours a days reading and researching about single family home rental investments and Turnkey investment properties around the nation. I read many articles on the best cities to invest and I started finding out about companies that specialize in this investment vehicle. 

Oct (week 4) - To make a long story shorter, I ended up making an offer on a 3 bed/2 bath on Scottsdale Ave near Parkway Village with the company Turnkey Properties (@alex craig) http://turnkeyinvestproperties.com/

I really appreciated their website and the information it provided such as the Sales Offering Packet which contained a lot of information including a detailed Scope of Work that they would perform on the property. 

I had a few Lenders lined up but when the rates started coming in, it sunk my Proforma and the Cash on Cash return and Cash Flow dropped significantly. So significantly, I had to drop out of the deal which really took the wind out of my sales.

Turnkey Properties returned my Ernest money because they said I was trying in good faith to stick to my end of the deal but my credit wasn't as good as I thought it was so the 5.5% rate, points and closing costs we're just too much. (4 years ago and beyond, I didn't really pay any school loans so that came to bite me on the ***!)

Hopefully, in the future, I will get the opportunity to work with the team at Turnkey Properties (@jeremy veldman) again because I had a favorable opinion of them up to the end.

Oct (week 5) - To make a short story longer, at some point in the journey, a Lender, Security National Mortgage Company (@aaron chapman) convinces me to pay my credit card to zero and they would rerun my credit score (Every month I pay it to zero but I guess when Lenders run credit scores, I must have had a high balance). I did and low and behold, my credit which was under 680 suddenly went above 680 which not-so-magically lowered my general rate.

One thing leads to another and I end up signing a purchase agreement on a 3 bed/1 bath on Avon Road near Berclair with Memphis Investment Properties (@james wachob @mark hart  ) http://memphisinvestmentproperties.net/

Nov (week 1) - A different Lender (Supreme Lending) offers me a lower rate than 5.0% with points which allows me to move forward with the Loan. I have signed all the Loans documents to date. Unfortunately, SNMC couldn't offer me a better rate but @aaron chapman congratulated me on it (he is a true gentlemen, which EVERYONE tells me he is!).

Nov (week 2) - Today, I received the Scope of Work from Memphis Investment Properties that is to be performed. In a few days, I will post before that Scope of Work and before photos and update the BP community on the progress.

The schedule is as follows which I will update periodically:

Nov (week 3) - Renovation

Nov (week 4) - Renovation

Nov (week 5) - Renovation

Dec (week 1) - Renovation complete.

Dec (week 2) - Home & Termite Inspection to be performed. Home Inspection report issues to be rectified.

Dec (week 3) - I plan on visiting Memphis and walk the final product, meet Memphis Investment Properties team including Property Management.

Dec 18 - Close on the deal.

Questions and Comments are MORE than welcome!!!