Notwithstanding the 6-month adjustable rate mortgage, when I sold my condo about 5 years later, I ended up with a profit of about $25,000.

But that’s not the whole story.

Less than a year after I bought my condo, my job moved from the suburbs to downtown Washington, D.C.  It was a real uncomfortable commute.  I had to drive about 12 miles!  Too much for this twenty-something year-old.   Plus DC was a happening place!  Why was I living way out in the suburbs?  What had I been thinking?

I rented out my condo to a woman about 20 years older than me.  She was just getting a divorce and couldn’t believe she could call me for any maintenance issues.  Fortunately for me, she was on good terms with her ex-husband, and she called him for any property malfunctions.  I still can’t believe my luck with her!

I went on to rent a row house in Georgetown.  Now I owned investment property and could depreciate it each year on my taxes.  The only thing is it would come back to haunt me after the sale.  I had to pay capital gains taxes.  At that time they were about 30%.

A profit?  Well, sort of.