Financing your first turn-key investment can seem like a daunting task.  Amongst the array of financial white noise it is difficult to decide how much you need to save for a turn-key investment and how to finance the down payment.  This article will answer those questions and lay the financial groundwork for how to financially posture yourself to invest with a turn-key provider.

How much do I need to save for a turn-key investment?

This number is going to depend on the purchase price and the type of financing.  For the sake of brevity I will focus on the most common deals that our turn-key providers offer, which are properties with a purchase price between $90,000 and $150,000 with 20% down on a conventional bank loan.  For these types of investments, you should target to save between $20k - $30k.

Our providers can also assist you with finding an investment through a self-directed Individual Retirement Account (IRA).  This deal will look a little...

I learned a painful but crucial lesson from my first shot at Real Estate Investing.

After I learned the basics of Real Estate Investing, I thought I was ready to jump right into a deal. I got ahold of a turn-key provider and immediately started looking at deals. The only kind of analysis I did was subtract the mortgage from the rent and tried to see if that made any sense.

By the way, a turn-key investment property is simply a fully renovated, tenanted, managed, and ready to go investment.

Red Flag #1: Communication with the turn-key provider was terrible. They didn't seem to have their shit together and they dragged out every step.

Red Flag #2: They wanted me to buy with cash only. The reason this is a problem, especially since I was NOT able to see the property, is because a cash purchase would not require any inspections or appraisals. Therefore, I would never really know if my property was actually worth what I was planning on paying for it.

Red Flag #3: The purchase contract...