Would-be real estate investors looking to make their first investment might wonder what experienced and highly successful investors wished they knew when they were in your shoes. So I asked if you were starting real estate investing over again and looking at buying your first investment property, what would be your first purchase?
Brandon would acquire as many turnkey single-family residences as he could. In his market, Cincinnati, he can purchase a $100,000 turnkey SFR with $15,000 in out-of-pocket costs that rents for $1,250 per month. Great cash-on-cash return, longer tenants compared to multifamily, and easy to sell.
16 years ago, Harrison acquired his first investment – two triplexes situated right next to each other in a class C market. Today, the area is going through gentrification, so the rents have doubled and the property values have tripled. However, being in a C market, Harrison has had a few tenant issues over the years, including two evictions and being taken to small claims court.
Therefore, if he was starting over his advice to you if you’re buying your first investment property would be to purchase a fourplex in a B location. Instead of two loans, he would have one. Also, he would have had access to higher quality renters, which means he likely wouldn’t have been taken to small claims court.
As a first investment, if they were starting over, Ryan and Glen would have purchased a three or four-unit property with an owner-occupied loan, living in one unit and renting out the others. Also known as housing hacking, they would have been able to acquire a rental property with little money out-of-pocket (generally 3.5% of the purchase price) and lived rent-free.
Both Devin and Whitney said, if they were starting over, they would find a mentor.
Neil Henderson would have skipped over the single-family residence and smaller multifamily investments and went straight for a 100-unit apartment community.
When Charlie was starting out, he considered purchasing a condo from a bankrupt builder. Originally, the builder was offering the condos for $356,00 to $410,000. However, the people who agreed to purchase the condos couldn’t qualify for financing. So, the builder greatly reduced the sales prices.
Charlie was considering a two-bedroom condo listed at $160,000. If he could go back, he would have purchased that condo, because today the current value exceeds $650,000.
Robert kept it simple and humorous. If he was starting over, his first investment would have been business cards.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to make or consider any investment or course of action.