First Deal in a Hot Market Nets $40,000 Profit

by Todd Toback
Carpinteria, CA

I wanted to share a recent success story of mine. After reading a few books on creative real estate investing, I made the decision to try and go for my first deal in real estate. I was skeptical because I live in one of the most expensive counties in the U.S.

Anyway, I sent out letters to all the out-of-state owners in my condo complex and found a couple who was willing to sell me their condo $50,000 below the market.

I immediately made them an offer of $285,000. They soon accepted. The only problem was I could not qualify for that large of a mortgage (I was 23 at the time.), and I did not have a significant down payment.

Needless to say, I had no problem finding investors, especially because of the stock market poor performance lately. I sold the property for $379,000. I paid the realtor a 2% commission, (I could afford to do that because the market was hot!), and I split the profit with my investor.

Gross profit was $96,000, my portion $40,000. Not bad for my first deal using little of my own money. God had favor with me. Thanks.