Investing in Real Estate

Growing up, I always knew investing in real estate was a good idea. My parents invested in real estate and instilled in us that it was a path to wealth. My siblings and I enjoyed going with my parents to look at houses when we were young. My older sister enjoyed real estate so much that she obtained her real estate license even after she became a pharmacist. 

The year after I started working as a traveling nurse practitioner, there was an opportunity to purchase our first property. A family friend was liquidating assets in preparation of a terminal illness and offered to sell us their house for $25k less than it was worth. I ended up purchasing the house with my older sister. Her realtor background came in handy and made the transaction seamless. She was even able to use her commission as part of the closing costs. 

We got the mortgage only under my sister, so that it would be easier for me to get a loan on a future property. We are both on the deed of the house which is what matters most. We invested some money to fix up the property, nothing major – such as paint, hurricane impact windows, and landscaping. Then we have rented it for a monthly profit, which increases each year. It has been a great investment for the past 6 years.

Two and half years later my sister and I bought our second property. I applied for the mortgage loan under my name as a personal loan since we planned on living in it for at least a year. As a locum tenens provider, qualifying for the loan was a bit difficult because at that time I had a mixture of 1099 work and W2 income. The lender only wanted to use my W2 income because they said 1099 income is unreliable.  

I also qualify for a lot of tax deductions being a traveler, but this ended up bringing down my adjusted gross income to a number the lender was not comfortable with. Qualifying for the loan ended up being more challenging than I expected. Fortunately, I had an amazing loan officer that fought for me. She told them my job is in high demand and my income is almost guaranteed. In the end, I ended up being approved for the loan.

During covid, I refinanced the mortgage to a lower rate and decreased the term from 30 years to 20 years to save almost $100k in interest. 

Two years later, my sister got married and moved out to purchase a house with her husband. We ended up renting the current house easily. 

As everyone is aware of, the real estate market took off since the pandemic. I originally wasn’t planning on buying another property. Yet, since the interest rates were so low, it made sense to buy now even though the cost of real estate was high. I also had 2 years of consistent W2 income since I didn’t travel abroad much during the pandemic. I thought I’d better take advantage of this. 

I wanted to buy a personal home for myself, since I planned on cutting back on how much locum tenens work I do in the near future. Cutting down on how much I work would also affect me qualifying for a mortgage loan in the future, so I figured I should get something while I can. 

I had been scanning the market for the entire 2021. There were over 20 people making offers on the same houses with $20k+ over asking or just buying it all cash. This wasn’t a type of market I was comfortable competing in. I did make an offer on a Miami beach condo one time but was outbid by $35k. I took a break, and during the week of Christmas I decided to start my search again. I had learned that the best time to find a deal is around the holidays when less people are looking. 

This strategy worked out for me because I was able to buy my 3^rd property! I looked at it the day before Christmas eve and made a $5k above asking offer which was accepted (despite having multiple offers). It is in a newer area of Miami where there has literally been no inventory, so I definitely lucked out. In fact, my sisters broker asked her how I snapped up the property because he has been trying to get his client a house in that area since 2020. She told him I offered $5k over asking and he said “that’s it?!” It was definitely God looking out for me.

I ended up renting it out the first year since I left Miami to work in Bradenton, Florida and plan on spending 3 months abroad. Rent in Miami has increased by 40%, so even though the house was more expensive than I wanted, the profit each month renting it is higher than I expected. In fact, the profit it double than I was planning. 

Real estate is a great investment. The value of my first two properties have almost doubled from the purchase price. It produces “passive income” that can help cover expenses or serve as a future retirement buffer. It helps having my sister as my partner because she helps me manage the properties. 

When I officially move back to Miami, I have several houses to choose from to move into. Or I may decide just to rent something on the beach, since my rental income can help cover most of the cost of my rent.