My first investment house

I've been a landlord before.  In 2008 when my daughter was born, my husband and I moved from our NJ Hudson waterfront townhouse condo to our weekend house in the mid-Hudson Valley full time.  Paying holding costs for 6 months on a place we never used but didn't yet want to sell got us thinking about finding tenants.  Yet it wasn't until my sister-in-law called with good friends looking for an easy commute to Manhattan that we were comfortable handing over the keys of our home to strangers.  (The townhouse was my first home purchase and I had a sentimental attachment.  I watched the construction and picked out the finishes on that place and and it was like handing my infant over to a caregiver for the first time...)

But once done it felt like freedom.  (I think the infant and caregiver analogy still holds...) No more worrying whether the place was safe and secure.   Our bills were paid and then some.  And the physical and mental separation made selling it three years later emotionally possible. 

Late last year I set out to start some passive income streams flowing and landed on investing in "fix-and-hold" properties.   Being new to real estate investing, I figure I can't go wrong buying anything that meets the 70% flip rule and then holding it for monthly cash flow. 

In early January I found my first fix-and-hold house just around the corner from me.  I bought it direct from the owner for the value of the land and it has a lovely 1920s 3,000 sq. foot 2-family side-by-side on it that is (mostly) structurally sound.  I closed on it a week ago.  I paid $30,000 (including her and my closing costs) and expect to put $75,000 into it.  The market value on the house once renovated is $180,000.  And so far -- no major surprises!  My next post will be about how I spent the first week -- engineers, electricians and plumbers... oh my.