About a year before my grandpa died, he sold one of his properties to my mom. This got here started on the investment property journey. She bought it on contract for 45,000 which she has since refinanced after he died. It is currently being rented for 675 a month. She has had her fair share of experiences, but overall I think she does a great job self-managing.

Last year, my mom and I flipped a house in a small town near where we live. This gave us some seed money that would eventually become my down payments for my investment properties (we will talk about those and the flip later) and a down payment she had to purchase another investment property in a solid area of Waterloo. She bought this one for 60,000 and is making 775 in rent. It is on a double lot and has a garage.

My mom has certain criteria she thinks work for rental properties in Waterloo and I believe can fit in almost any market:

1) Does she feel safe going to the property

2) Is it in a solid school district

3) Does it have any deferred maintenance issues

4) Will it work on a 15 year loan (she likes to build equity quickly)

As a manger she does a great job of playing point guard and figuring out the issue and calling the right vendor who will fix the problem correctly. She has gone through a couple evictions and she loves using Cozy which is a luxury my grandfather never had. By taking care of her properties, not panicking when there is an issue and being prompt to fix them, and of course by screening tenants she has been able to self-manage very successfully.

She keeps her cash flow in the bank and lets it build. The only two things she has bought with it other than properties or maintenance issues are a horse and her annual trip to Florida!

CTTO Article Source: www.biggerpockets.com