I became the accidental landlord in 2008 because I couldn’t sell my condo and so I rented it out. I didn’t do anything with real estate for 5 years, until I realized I didn’t want to work for the rest of my life.
I decided to pursue real estate, and guess what? That’s right, I started with single family houses. I bought some rental house out of foreclosure.
I then realized that it would take WAY too long to quit my job and New Year’s Eve 2014 I decided to pursue multifamily investing.
In early 2015 I purchased Michael’s program and began to analyze deals and make offers.
Three months later, I closed my first small apartment building, a 3-unit in Minneapolis with 2 partners. I rehabbed the property and later refinanced it to fund some of my deals later in the year.
A month later, I bought a 4-plex with partner.
Two months later, I bought a 32-unit property with 2 partners; half of the down payment was from the refinance of the triplex I bought earlier in the year.
I then quit my job and became a full-time investor. That was 12 months after I decided to pursue multifamily investing.
Since then I’ve done 7 additional deals, and I now own 188 units in total. I just did a 62-unit deal and am participating in a 171-unit deal. Syndication is such a rush … the sky is the limit!
That first deal is so critical. It’s like riding a bicycle. It takes some effort at first to learn the skill, but once you have it you can go so much further than you ever could before. The first deal was the hardest (even though it was small) and the 2nd and 3rd happen almost automatically. It’s all about the first deal!
My life today would have been hard to imagine just two years ago. I can play with my daughter in the middle of the afternoon. I’ve been on 3 vacations in the last 3 months. My outlook on my life, my plans etc are changing almost daily because I don’t have to worry about working.
The freedom from the apartment buildings has changed my life so radically that it’s hard to explain, and I’m still trying to figure it out.
All I know for now is that I want to help other people do the same thing that I have done, and I believe (like Michael) that apartment buildings is the BEST way to do that.
That’s why I joined Michael’s coaching staff, so that I could help as many people as possible do their first deal.
DEAL HISTORY
- New Years Eve 2014: Decided to pursue multifamily strategy
- April/May, 2015 (+3 months after deciding MF): Bought triplex in MPLS with 2 partners. Rehabbed and refinanced to pull out ~125% of invested cash. Used all cash from financing as down payment on 32-unit property.
- June (+ 1 month): Bought 4-plex w 1 partner out of foreclosure from Freddie Mac (outer-ring suburb of St Paul, MN).
- June: Bought SFR all-cash — no partners — out of foreclosure from Freddie Mac ($105K). $15K in repairs and appraises for $210K. Withdraw $168K (80% LTV)
- August (+2 months): Bought 32-unit with 2 partners. 80% LTV; down payment half financed through rehab/refi of triplex.
- Sep: Bought 100-year-old distressed 6 unit (Class C) in Saint Paul MN. Found on Loopnet.
- Dec: I quit my job: That’s 12 Months after deciding to pursue multifamily!
- May, 2016: Bought 9-unit in Saint Paul MN, $557K, with $125K construction loan. Complete repositioning of entire property from Class C to Class B — all new units, new tenants, etc.
- July: Bought duplex from wholesaler $162K all cash (Bremerton, WA). Appraises for $210K, withdraw all of invested cash. (100% loan-to-purchase).
- August: Bought 2nd duplex from wholesaler for $160K all cash (Bremerton WA). Appraises for $180K. Pull out $135 (75% LTV; 85% loan-to-purchase).
- September: Bought 3rd duplex from wholesaler for $121K all cash (Bremerton WA). Appraisal for $175K. Pull out $131K (75% LTV; 109% loan-to-purchase).
- November: 62 unit purchased in Saint Paul MN, with 7 other guys. $3.5M purchase. Half of units are empty/vacant upon acquisition.
- January 2017: 11-unit under contract in Saint Paul, MN (with the 2 partners with whom I purchased triplex and 32-unit). Plan is to purchase the identical four 11-units, reposition the block as a nicer area, reposition units, and then refinance all 55 units into one entity.
- August 2017: helping syndicate for a 171-unit near Minneapolis. Expected close is September 2017.
- Total # of Units to date: 188
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