This is me in front of my first Real Estate purchase years back.
Funny, I actually had short hair at one point!
You’re looking at a proud, but stressed, 20-something-year-old who had to pile all of their pennies together just to buy this condo through a Short Sale.
For those outside of the Real Estate Industry, a Short Sale is a process where the bank approves to sell the property for less than what is owed on it. Due to the condition and the seller’s current mortgage, they were upside down or underwater. Unfortunately, after Katrina, this property sold for a sky high price that it has yet to ever see again. The Short Sale was necessary to sell and avoid foreclosure. 
What did that mean for me as a buyer? Well, it took a solid 5 months for me to buy the property! Even though I was buying with cash, which is usually the fastest way to buy a property, I still had to wait on the bank. Someone once joked that a Short Sale is “short price, long paperwork and process”. And I agree! 
I bought this property and after my closing I remember changing the locks in the dark. 
From there, I spent the next 9 weeks or so renovating the inside after hours while I worked a 9-5 with the help of some family. I am so thankful that I had my dad, my uncles, and my brother-in-law there to teach me things like basic electrical work, carpentry, and laying floors. This has greatly helped me over the years as I have managed projects. Either myself or some family members did about 90% of the work and I paid to get the final 10% done. We call that, “sweat equity”. 
When I started this project, I had to get to a clean slate first. This was a mild case of hoarding so there was a decent amount of deep cleaning that had to happen up front before any work started. 
From there, I redid every surface with paint from base boards to ceilings and millwork to new fixtures, new knobs, hinges, had to fix some electrical and the water heater, lay new flooring and fix countless other problems. Cosmetically, the property got a face lift and it made a world of a difference! Once done, I was able to get an appraisal on the property and learned that I had unearthed an additional $30K in equity from the work that I did! 
That was all the proof of concept that I needed! By then, the Real Estate bug had bit me and I was ready to “rinse, wash, repeat” with more deals. Looking back I remember being so afraid doing my first deal but I took the advice of seasoned investors and advisors in my life and took the leap. I am SO glad that I did! Even if I did it while afraid. #doitanyway
Tell me about your first Real Estate deal below. Would you do that deal again? I know I would do this deal again and actually have flipped another condo in the same complex already.