دروس مهمة من الاستثمارات الأكثر نجاحًا/الأقل نجاحًا

دروس مهمة من الاستثمارات الأكثر نجاحًا/الأقل نجاحًا

In the early days of my real estate journey, we bought a condo for $76,000.

At first, everything seemed promising — a cute unit, steady rent, and a fixed monthly HOA fee of $330.

But to our surprise, every few months, the HOA fee went up by another $30.

It might not sound like a big deal… but after three years, the monthly HOA reached $460, while rent was $1,200.

A $130 increase is over 10% of the rental income — that adds up!

ماذا تعلمت؟

Condos might look like a simple and easy investment.

But the big downside is this: you have no control over management costs.

HOA fees can climb without warning, and over time that eats away at your profits — significantly.

We considered selling the property.

Naturally, I went to check the Zestimate on Zillow — it showed $166,000!

Wow. I was excited. That’s a huge jump in value!

I called the agent who had helped us buy the property three years earlier, and…

ضحكت.

“You’re welcome to list it at that price,” she said. “Let’s see who bites.”

“But Zillow says…” I protested…

Yeah, well — if you rely solely on Zillow, you’re probably setting yourself up for a reality check.

In the end, the condo’s value had gone up just 5% over three years. Still a profit — but nowhere near what Zillow claimed.

فماذا فعلنا؟

Did we sell or keep it?

Drop a comment and take a guess

الوجبات الرئيسية:

If someone claims to know real estate but only uses Zillow as their info source — it’s a red flag.

Own the building — not just one condo in it.

When you own the whole thing, you control the management, not the other way around.

In the photos:

My family — my “why”, and me out in nature, on the edge (literally).

My husband and best friend in the world isn’t really into cliffs — and not just the literal kind

(Location: McAfee Knob, Appalachian Trail, Virginia — highly recommended hike!)