How it all Started

I suppose you are wondering how I got started investing in real estate. Well, I don’t want to keep you in suspense, so here is what went down.

My lovely wife and I lived in central Florida in a typical 1950’s style home: concrete block, 2 BR/ 1 BA with a carport. We purchased the home in 1994 for $36,000. Life continued on. A couple of years later, we opened a Line of Credit on the house and bought a truck (I love trucks!).

As life would have it, we decided to move near Charlotte, NC. Instead of selling the house we decided to rent it out. Our mortgage payment was $266 a month and the rent was $600 a month. Everything was going great.

After a couple of years, our tenants asked if they could buy the home. We struck a deal for $70,000 and closed quickly.

I looked back on the whole thing:

1. Bought a house
2. Bought a truck
3. Rented the house with positive cash flow
4. Sold the house and had a lot of money left over

Something inside ‘clicked.’ This was easy. This was simple. I made money (and got a truck out of the deal!). I suppose it was then that I decided real estate would be in my future.

- ZenDarb