Property #2 Done

Wow, it's been a whirlwind of events the past few weeks. I want to give you an in depth summary of what has happen that lead to me becoming a landlord.

Days Before the Close
My closing date was set for Thursday May 31st. During this time I had a lot of gaps to fill, in particular:
- create a renters application and agreement
- fund 25% down payment and closing costs
- open up a business account
- give tours to potential renters
- get home owners insurance for investment property

It was incredibly stressful during this time to do all these things, along with working full time. What didn't help was my mortgage loan officer (Brian) wasn't the best in following up with everything. Honestly, if he was ever a project manager, he would fail at leading. There were a lot of things he could have told me day before closing that would of make things a lot simpler. Such as- exact amount I needed to fund to the title company, obtaining home owners insurance and opening up a business account. I was successfully able to do all those things but Brian literally didn't tell me any of these things until day before close late afternoon.

During this time I also successfully for a tenant to sign to live for one year at my investment property. I put an AD on Craigslist Sunday Morning before I went to church, the renters called me that afternoon and we agreed to meet on Monday Memorial Day. (My agent left me the garage code and allowed me to tour the house with renters prior to closing.) After the renters toured the house, they immediately signed on for $1295 a month for a year. It was so ironic when they signed, after we finished the house tour there was another couple that was standing at the door that said they want to sign the agreement. Since there was a demand right then and there, they signed it. I can't believe I have renters lined up and they want to move in the night after I close on the house.

The day before the close, I opened up a business account. All monies that I receive from rent will go into this account. The monthly rent will cover mortgage, HOA fees, Property Tax, Home Owners Insurance and will provide me a cash flow of an extra $370 a month.

The day before I closed, I initiated the wire transfer of $45,000 to close on my house, all went smoothly.

I went with Geico to find me a good home owners insurance policy, the HOA has a Masters Insurance policy where they cover the external house such as foundation and roofing. I need to be insured for the inside, like floors, walls, carpet, electrical wiring, etc. I got a pretty good plan, with earthquake insurance, sewer backup and liability for renters up to half million dollars. The total was only $391 a year. I could have gotten insurance for cheaper but I rather be well protected rather than being financially liable for damages because I wanted to save $20 bucks.

Closing Day
Closing Day was very crazy. I went to the title company at 11am and apparently all the closing documents were not submitted from the lazy mortgage loan officer Brian. So I had to call him and cracked a whip on him. 5 minutes later, we got all the papers from him and I was able to start closing. Closing too, about 30 minutes of signing papers and Michelle (from the title company) was super efficient. Kudos to her.
After signing the last few papers, everything was funded on my end as well as from the bank.

Fortunately I found renters a few days prior to closing. And they wanted to move in at 7pm on closing day. I literally had 7 hours with the house then I had to turn it over to the renters. With the help of my friends, we were able to get the fridge, washer and dryers installed in 3 hours. I guess next time when I buy another house, I'm going to pay the $60 to get the fridge installed, the fridge that I bought was huge and tough to get in. And if I damaged or scratch the walls of my new house while getting it in the house, the damage would of been on my expense and not the movers.

The renters came at 7pm, I won't disclose who they are but they are a responsible family. I did a walk through with them on the entire house and they gave me my first check and I handed off the keys to them. Everything was done.

Weeks and days leading up to this, I was a bit stressed from everything, there was a lot of planning, discussing, meeting and money involved. But I'm finally glad things are over and now it's just being a good landlord and maintaining the house. I will constantly update this as the months move along and my future endeavors with other real estate I have in mind.

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