Overview of Seller Financing His First Rental When No Bank Would Lend
This BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie episode follows Joshua “Josh” Satimio’s path from high school beach-rental laborer to real estate investor, showing how proximity to experienced owners, manufactured opportunities, and persistence helped him acquire his first rental despite being rejected by banks. He bought a distressed $38,000 property with seller financing, navigated a difficult nonpaying tenant, completed a long rehab, refinanced using an as-completed appraisal, and used the resulting equity to scale into additional deals. Today, he says he’s involved in roughly 70 properties across four partnerships and is preparing to close on a 20-unit property with his wife.
Josh’s Early Real Estate Education
Beach jobs sparked his interest
- In high school and college, Josh worked beach-service jobs in vacation rental areas.
- He saw firsthand how one owner managed multiple homes and lived off real estate income.
- Cleaning million-dollar beach houses and talking with the owner changed how he viewed career possibilities.
Football, injury, and a pivot
- Josh went to college in Arkansas to play football, but an injury forced him to reassess.
- He learned early lessons in negotiation and “creating a market” for himself by emailing schools and seeking opportunities.
- He originally studied education through a teaching program, then switched to psychology and business.
He manufactured his internship
- After getting hurt, he took a landscaping job at an apartment complex near campus.
- He built rapport with the property manager and later asked to shadow him for his senior-year internship.
- That internship gave him direct exposure to property management and leasing, which became the bridge into real estate.
How He Got His First Deal
The brokerage environment accelerated everything
- After college, Josh got his real estate license and started working as an agent.
- He was surrounded by experienced brokers and investors who owned many doors.
- That proximity showed him how to think bigger and gave him a real-world model to follow.
Banks said no
- As a new 1099 agent with only about six months of income history, he couldn’t get conventional financing.
- He was also trying to avoid bringing large amounts of cash to the table that he didn’t have.
- The solution came from a distressed listing through his brokerage.
Seller financing on a distressed property
- He found a $38,000 house where the tenant had not paid rent for over a year.
- Because the home couldn’t easily be shown, the seller was open to owner financing.
- Josh got a quick walkthrough, saw the distress, and made the deal work without an inspector or contractor on the first visit.
The Rehab, Eviction, and Refi
The property was far worse than expected
- The house had termite damage, bad flooring, structural issues, and hidden problems behind the walls.
- Josh and his wife handled much of the work themselves while outsourcing the more technical pieces.
- The rehab took roughly 8 to 12 months.
He had to learn boundary-setting
- The tenant initially promised to pay if repairs were made, but kept refusing to pay.
- Josh realized he had to separate empathy from business reality.
- He served notice, followed the legal eviction process, and the tenant eventually left before court action escalated.
BiggerPockets and mentors helped solve problems
- He leaned on BiggerPockets forums, YouTube, and other investors to figure out eviction and rehab questions.
- He also learned practical lessons about termites, subfloor, framing, and when to DIY versus outsource.
The refinance unlocked growth
- After rehab, an as-completed appraisal came in around $86,000.
- He refinanced, pulled out repair capital, and ended up with a much lower loan balance than the property’s value.
- The renovated home rented for about $850 per month and produced usable equity for future acquisitions.
- He then used a line of credit and that equity to help buy additional properties.
Key Lessons and Takeaways
1. Proximity matters
- Being around active investors and experienced operators shortened Josh’s learning curve.
- He saw real-world problems before he had to solve them on his own.
2. Don’t wait for permission
- He created opportunities by asking for internships, asking for walkthroughs, and asking sellers about owner financing.
- A lot of his progress came from simply asking the next question.
3. Persistence beats early rejection
- Multiple banks said no before one local lender finally said yes.
- The lesson: one “no” is not the market’s final answer.
4. Distress requires empathy and boundaries
- Josh learned that being kind doesn’t mean absorbing a tenant’s financial problems.
- He emphasized following through once a legal notice is issued.
5. Cash flow is built through value-add work
- The rehab and refinance turned a problem property into usable equity.
- That equity helped fund his next deals and scale his business.
What’s Next for Josh
- Josh and his wife are preparing to buy a 20-unit property without partners.
- It’s an old motel in a lake town about 45 minutes away that they’re converting from a long-term tenant model.
- They’ve already handled rezoning and lined up financing with a local bank.
- He plans to continue building through commercial-style opportunities and long-term ownership.
Notable Quote / Insight
“One day you’re going to look back and the problems you have now, your future self is going to laugh at them.”
That mindset—combined with persistence, creativity, and willingness to learn in public—was the backbone of Josh’s first deal and his ability to keep scaling.