Mike Peterson

My first exposure to real estate was when I was 12. My dad purchased a 13-unit apartment building as his first rental property in 1980. Interest rates were super high. But the owner financed the property. He purchased it because of his friend who said "if you won't buy it, I will." The date of the building was 1860. Needless to say, there was high maintenance and my dad and I were the maintenance men. I could not drive, so my dad would drop me off at the building with a list of tasks. It started with mowing and cleaning and progressed to remodeling while I was in high school. I never worked a "real job" in high school. His "lists" on the back of envelopes were never ending. I went to college and did not want his "lists" to follow me. I struggle with construction jobs and sale and got an BA in Business Administration with Marketing emphasis from the University of MN Twin Cities. Meanwhile, I married Karen Hutchinson in 1991, we moved to Moscow, ID and I worked dozens of different jobs from picking pine cones, to loading semi-trucks, to servicing computers. Fast forward 10 years and in 2001, my wife and I purchased our first rental property, a duplex in Fort Myers, FL. We managed EVERYTHING and after several bad tenants, with many colorful stories we can tell, we decided to sell the duplex in 2005 and I vowed to never purchase another rental property again. Fast forward to 2009, I am reconnecting with a old friend in Fort Myers. He said he is flipping properties. I told him he was crazy, until he told me he was making an average of $20K on each flip and flipping a property each month. He got me connected to the right people and I decided to start purchasing single family houses and duplexes, but not flip but rather to hold and rent. I liquidated all my retirement (paid penalties) and begged "Bank of Dad" to lend me as much as possible. Within 3 years, I had 25 units. My key to holding them was using a property management company to manage them. I whiffed with my first management company, but ended up with a really good company that I am still with 10 years later. Today (2017) I am in the process of "culling the herd" while the market is high. Thanks to Bigger Pockets, I have opened my mind to off-market multi-family properties, even purchasing in a hot market. I am closing on a fabulous 6-plex deal next week. 2018 UPDATE: I sold the 6-plex for what I put into it. Needless to say, I have long list of lessons I learned from it. I will do better next time. It had a long list of code enforcement violations that I could not overcome. I hired a developer and paid his $20K, but we could not overcome the unreasonable demands of the the City. 2019 UPDATE: The market is still going higher. I am still selling every property that goes vacant. I took my extra cash, put 25% down on and purchased a $1.675 million unique island property that we plan renting through HomeAway, VRBO and AirBNB. We are excited and terrified and the same time! 2020 UPDATE: Our first year owning the island we booked over $300K in rental income, amidst, 3 months of no revenue. We thought it would be family vacations, but it turned into weddings. Then we decided to purchase another vacation rental 2 doors down on the same river. It has started out well with several short term renters through AirBNB and VRBO. UPDATE 2023: We suffered a Category 5 Hurricane Ian on 9-28-22 and all 5 of our houses flooded and my eBay business suffered $40K inventory loss. We learned about having all your eggs in one basket. And now we are experts in water remediation. 5 complete guts and AirBNB refurbishing in 8 months. Experience: I have been a part of the rental real estate universe since I was 12 years old. Since 2010, I have purchased, rehabbed, rented, and sold 20+ properties in the Fort Myers, FL area. I am able to evaluate properties quickly and am able to quickly close on the contracts. I specialize in distressed properties in desirable rental areas. Real Estate Goals: I would like to have 100 residential units with free cash flow of $20K per month. The end game to be able to retire comfortably in any market condition and to identify and fund Christian Missions as a major donor. Currently Seeking: I am currently seeking multi-until residential properties to replace my single family and duplex properties. But I am open to any property that has the right numbers and location. I am currently specializing in distressed properties that need major renovations. I am exploring passive investing in partnerships that purchase large apartment complexes, mobile home parks, and commercial property.