My name is Gunther VanWinkle and I am 23 years old. Recently, I decided to become a licensed real estate agent. It may appear on the surface that I am new to the real estate industry, but that’s far from he truth. Here’s my real estate story.
The dream started when I was about 14. After seeing multiple people in my community involved in real estate investing, my mind was made up, that is what I wanted to be, a real estate investor. The day I turned 15, March 5th to be exact, I started working (officially) at my parents restaurant. Growing up in the business, I already had the knowledge, but now it was time to put that knowledge to work. Working as many shifts as possible and saving money were the only goals on my mind.
In the summer of 2012, after about a year a half of working and saving nearly every penny I made, I started to look around the county for any real estate (that was within my very small budget) I could invest in to potentially flip or rent out. About a month of searching later, I found a house that I was interested in, a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom home at 1109 Main St. No clue where to start in purchasing a home, as this wasn’t something they taught you sophomore year of high school. Hours of brainstorming and conferencing with my parents finally lead me to a beginning point, making an offer. Being a town of 6,000 people, finding a Realtor for the job was no hard task. After deciding on one, I made my offer (much lower than I’m sure my Realtor would have liked me to).
Excited, nervous, scared. I’m not sure how to describe how I felt those next two days of waiting for the counter-offer to come back, but eventually it did. I had my mind made up that the counter-offer was going to come back higher than I could afford and my dreams would be crushed on go. To my surprise and I’m sure my Realtor’s, they accepted my first offer! Now, back to square one, what do I do? More brainstorming and conferencing, and I knew what had to come next. I had to have 1109 Main St. inspected and get approved for the loan.
To say the inspection came back good would be a lie. A few beams in the sub-floor would need to be replaced to bring the home up to par at a cost of $10,000! To 16 year old me, $2,000 was a ton of money, and I definitely did not have that kind of extra cash just laying around. So, I did what I was advised to do, and I lowered my offer by $10,000 to cover those costs. The sellers countered at the original price stating that it was an AS-IS sale and the original accepted offer was their bottom dollar. Dreams, right into thin air.
Over the next 2 years I came to realize, sometimes, things just don’t work out but you can’t let that deter you from your dreams and goals. You need to get back up, get out there, and make it happen.
June 2014, about a month after graduating high school, 18 years old, and still working as many hours and saving as much money as I can. I started the hunt again. At this time, I was working 40+ hours a week at the restaurant and mowing lawns for a company, about 20 of which were my responsibility. As you can imagine, finding time to go house hunting was hard. It usually involved time in between lawns or searching on my computer after getting home from the restaurant around midnight. Many weeks and hours searching later, I found the one. A small 1 bedroom/1 bathroom house at 310 W Craft St. that made most PCB condos feel spacious, but it was perfect. A little rough around the edges, but doable.
One worry still stuck in my mind, what if this deal went like the last. Luckily, life goes on and you second chances, so I stuck with my gut and gave them a low-low-ball offer, 48% of asking price to be exact. What do you know, they countered. One more counter later and the offer was accepted at 58% of original asking price. I don’t know if you believe in miracles, but this sure felt like one. Next came the daunting and expensive task of getting inspections, title work, and loan approval finished. I was on my way. 30 days later, the deal was signed, witnessed, and finished. I was officially a real estate investor!
Remember when I said 310 W Craft St was a little rough around the edges? I had no idea what I was getting myself into. After further exploration by myself and a contractor, we decided what needed to be done. Completely new HVAC (duct work and all), new sub-floor in the kitchen, new carpet and tile throughout, new appliances, rebuilding the bedroom closet, repairing the front porch and back steps, gutting and redoing the bathroom, all new window trim and probably a few things I hope to forget. The repairs on this home were going to be nearly 75% of the purchase price. Back to the bank I went to ask for more money to make the necessary repairs. To my surprise I got the loan and the work started. Two months, more money than initially expected, and I think a few gray hairs later, 310 W Craft St. was finished. Now what, rent or sell?
I decided to rent it out mostly because the idea of continual income sounded better than all the money up front. Initially, a ton of research went into finding out how much to charge and what seemed fair in my mind. Being 18 and still living with my parents, I had no knowledge on this subject. Finally, I had decided on a price and it was time to advertise. In the first few weeks I showed 310 W Craft 6 or 7 times, but to no avail, everyone thought I was overpriced. That was a shot to the gut, but I knew deep down this was right and I felt that the right someone would come along eventually. A few week more passed and finally I had someone who wanted to rent.
I learned a lot about myself over these few months and it motivated me to work even harder. Landlord was never a title I thought I would hold at 18, but ultimately I was going to do whatever it took to achieve my goals.
Now here we are, January 2019, 22 years old. I have since sold the property on 310 W Craft St. and invested in many more. I’ve flipped, rented, and come up short on numerous occasions. I’ve learned what to do and what not to do through trial and error, and I’m still learning everyday. I’ve literally risked every penny I had, except $78, on the purchase of a property. I’ve had to walk away from deals because I didn’t have the funds. I’ve had sleepless nights going over in my head what I could have done different, and this is only the beginning.
I currently own 18 rental units in Illinois and I’m always looking to invest in more, if it’s the right move. I know the road to my goals is long, but I’m motivated and willing to put in the effort.
I consider my unique life experiences an asset and I want to put that asset to work for you. This is why I tested for my Florida Real Estate Sales Associate license, and passed on my first attempt. My personal real estate experience is unparalleled and I believe you can use this to your advantage. Whether you’re buying, selling, investing, or relocating to the Panama City Beach area, I can help you as I have done
