The Real Estate Journey: Lessons From My First 10 Deals

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By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Deal #10: When Experience Starts Compounding

My insurance agent sent me a message about a wholesale opportunity in Castle Hayne.A 3-bed, 1.5-bath house with a tenant in place and no lease. Rent significantly below market. A seller who needed to move on.On the surface, it looked like a straightforward value-add play. But the...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Deal #9: The Base Hit That Created Value on Day One

I said no the first time he called.I had previously interviewed him for a property manager position. We did not end up hiring him. He later moved out of the Wilmington market. We stayed on good terms and occasionally crossed paths.When he decided he no longer wanted to own rental...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Deal #8: When Discipline Beats Excitement

Late 2023. Interest rates had climbed past 6.5% and were still moving.Every real estate podcast, every investor forum, every conversation at the gym had the same message: there are no good deals right now. Just wait. The market will correct.I disagreed.The investors who stop anal...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Deal #7: The Deal Where I Got Cocky and Paid for It

I had closed six deals. I had survived bad financing, a $20,000 loss on manufactured homes, a permitting-free duplex I wished I had kept, and a clean turnkey that validated my system. I had built Cedar Ridge Management from the ground up. I knew how to find deals, evaluate them, ...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Deal #6: The Turnkey Deal That Validated My System

I was at my desk working when my phone buzzed.It was a text from an old friend, a fellow infantry officer I had served with on the 26th MEU. We had been in the same small group at church for a couple of years. We had deployed together, trained together, and stayed close long afte...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Deal #5: The $33,380 Duplex That Built My Deal-Finding System

After Hurricane Florence, we saw an opportunity.There were a lot of absentee owners with damaged properties who were not local and not actively managing their investments. Instead of sending mass mailers, we took a more direct approach.I pulled a list of out-of-town property owne...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Deal #4: How One Duplex Turned Into an Infinite Return (and Built Our Systems)

By 2018, Avery and I had built some momentum. We'd survived messy rehabs, expensive financing, long-distance management, and lost $20,000 on one deal.What we hadn't done yet was buy a duplex. So in 2018, we bought our first one.The property was a small two-unit building j...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Deal #3: How Two Cash-Flowing Properties Lost Me $20,000

In 2016, Avery and I had just gotten married and moved to North Carolina. I was eager to keep growing our portfolio, and for the first time, I felt like I had some momentum.That's when manufactured housing entered the picture.I had never seriously considered mobile homes befo...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Deal #2: How a Risky Long-Distance Purchase Turned Into an Infinite Return

In October 2014, I was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, when a text came to my phone from the guy who helped me buy my very first rental property.He had another deal.The catch? It was a small 795-square-foot house in the barrio near downtown Tucson, Arizona, more than 2...

By Cedar Ridge Property Management - Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Deal #1: From Mold, Bad Financing, and Zero Cash Flow to an Infinite Return

The first time I walked into this house, the smell hit me.Urine-soaked floors. Mold in the walls. No wiring. No plumbing. No fixtures. Just a gutted 805-square-foot house in Tucson, Arizona, and a 21-year-old Marine officer with more ambition than cash standing in the middle of i...

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Deal #10: When Experience Starts Compounding

Deal #9: The Base Hit That Created Value on Day One

Deal #8: When Discipline Beats Excitement

Deal #7: The Deal Where I Got Cocky and Paid for It

Deal #6: The Turnkey Deal That Validated My System

Deal #5: The $33,380 Duplex That Built My Deal-Finding System

Deal #4: How One Duplex Turned Into an Infinite Return (and Built Our Systems)

Deal #3: How Two Cash-Flowing Properties Lost Me $20,000

Deal #2: How a Risky Long-Distance Purchase Turned Into an Infinite Return

Deal #1: From Mold, Bad Financing, and Zero Cash Flow to an Infinite Return

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