Realtor · York, PA · Member since 2020 · 140 posts · 28 votes
I never bought a rental property before and I'm thinking about out of state investing in the Carolinas. Of course I'll need the core 4 especially since it's out of state but if I were to find them in a certain 1 or 2 markets I'm thinking about Sumter SC, Columbia SC, Greensboro NC, Fayetteville NC and Durham NC. Does anyone recommend a particular market? If anyone invests in any of those markets, what do you like about it? What do you dislike? Is it easy to find off market properties in that certain market? How are the returns? How easy is it to find the core 4? I apologize for all the questions but any answers are GREATLY appreciated!! Thank you in advance!
Granada Hills, CA · Member since 2019 · 97 posts · 313 votes
5y
I buy in NC and GA. Feel free to PM me. My only big comment is that SC passed a law a while ago that prevents taxes on homesteaders from going up with increased property appraisals. Sounds good on the surface, helps keep fixed income folks in their homes, but it forced the state to lean really heavily on everyone else to make up the gap. And the need keeps going up because more homesteaders keep moving in because of the low taxes and what was a great school system. Puts even more pressure on budgets because there's more demand without the tax base. Anyway, net effect is that property taxes for investment properties are about 3x what they are for homeowners in SC. So it's really hard to find properties that make sense to buy.
I like greensboro. Don't know Fayetteville as well. Just make sure you research those cities and know what areas to buy in and which to avoid. There are some good forums on that already.
Granada Hills, CA · Member since 2019 · 97 posts · 313 votes
5y
I buy in NC and GA. Feel free to PM me. My only big comment is that SC passed a law a while ago that prevents taxes on homesteaders from going up with increased property appraisals. Sounds good on the surface, helps keep fixed income folks in their homes, but it forced the state to lean really heavily on everyone else to make up the gap. And the need keeps going up because more homesteaders keep moving in because of the low taxes and what was a great school system. Puts even more pressure on budgets because there's more demand without the tax base. Anyway, net effect is that property taxes for investment properties are about 3x what they are for homeowners in SC. So it's really hard to find properties that make sense to buy.
I like greensboro. Don't know Fayetteville as well. Just make sure you research those cities and know what areas to buy in and which to avoid. There are some good forums on that already.
Rental Property Investor · SC · Member since 2017 · 37 posts · 35 votes
5y
Hey Nathan, I'm in Sumter and have a portfolio here. I've also lived in Fayetteville and owned a home there. In my opinion Fayetteville is currently a better place to look for deals. That's both on and off market. Both Sumter and Fayetteville have a military presence if that's what you were looking for. However Fayetteville is much larger in military population and it seems like the stock of potential BRRRR properties is larger there as well. The MLS market is hot in Sumter yet I've recently seen a MLS property in Fayetteville that had good potential. As far as the core 4 you will find both areas equally difficult to find contractors in today's environment. There is lots of money flowing to homeowners renovation projects and contractors are not having to search hard for work. Meaning your renovation could get costly. So be careful in the projects you take on. Lenders are available both places. Check with the local banks. That's about it. Good luck in your endeavors friend.
Rental Property Investor · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
5y
@David Lutz I also invest in Greensboro and Winston-Salem. I think it is a great market. I’m planning on buying heavily in that area as I raise money in the fund that we just created.
Real Estate Agent · Fayetteville, NC · Member since 2020 · 106 posts · 108 votes
5y
@Nathan Barshinger, I am a realtor in the Fayetteville area. We have a strong rental market, thanks in large part to Fort Bragg. There are deals to be found both on and off-market, but like @Daulton H. pointed out, finding good contractors can be more challenging than usual, making rehabs more time-consuming. As @Shiloh Lundahl mentioned, I don't think you can go wrong in the Greensboro and Winston-Salem area. Durham is part of the Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill), which is a very hot market right now. I know that there are deals to be found, but you have to be patient and dig a little more to find them. I can't really comment on the SC market other than what I have heard here on the forums. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Realtor · York, PA · Member since 2020 · 140 posts · 28 votes
5y
@Daulton H. Much appreciated, I'll dig into Fayetteville more. In regards to Sumter, how is the investor property tax affecting your portfolio there? Are they still cash flowing well?
Realtor · York, PA · Member since 2020 · 140 posts · 28 votes
5y
@Don-Carlos Moniz thank you very much for the insight! If and when I choose to invest in or near Fayetteville could I message you to see what we can do as far as finding deals and additional knowledge about the area?
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
5y
@Nathan Barshinger invest where you are able to build a team. The team is more important than the market imo. My $.02 Whichever market presents the strongest team, go there. Hint: Find a Rockstar Team Member and things will open up from there. Eagles fly with other eagles not with turkeys, ie Rockstars know Rockstars. Good luck!
Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2020 · 108 posts · 89 votes
5y
Look into Augusta, Georgia. The Army Cyber Command recently moved to Fort Gordon in Augusta, and the NSA has established major operations there, as well. This has resulted in a population increase of over 100,000 in the past decade. Due to the presence of some of America's smartest minds in cybersecurity at Fort Gordon, a small number of tech companies are beginning to crop up. I imagine that this trend will continue. Federal and medical jobs, the two major components of Augusta's economy, are largely recession-proof.
Look into properties in Columbia County, GA for the best chance of appreciation. You might find good opportunities in Richmond County, but families moving to the region almost exclusively end up in Columbia County due to differences in the two school systems.
Realtor · York, PA · Member since 2020 · 140 posts · 28 votes
5y
@Waleep Alvi Augusta has crossed my mind although I didn't hear much about it. Thanks for the insight! I'll definately look into some properties there and in Columbia County!
Real Estate Agent · Evans, GA · Member since 2021 · 14 posts · 4 votes
5y
@Nathan Barshinger Columbia county, more specifically, Evans GA was recently voted number 1 best city in the nation for families to live in. Houses in Evans are usually under contract day 1 on the market with multiple offers. Depending on your real estate goals, Grovetown and Hephzibah offer good schools/properties. If you're looking more for fix and flip/cashflow opportunites, Augusta is higher on the list.
If you have any further questions don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm a realtor that lives in Evans and invests fix and flips mainly in Augusta.
Real Estate Agent · Evans, GA · Member since 2021 · 14 posts · 4 votes
5y
@Waleep Alvi You're absolutely right about everything you said regarding Augusta and neighboring Columbia County. The market is scorching here because of the jobs and school system. If you ever need anything, just let me know
@Waleep Alvi in addition to the military growth, Amazon has just built a large facility a few miles West. There is a lot of growth security in the Grovetown/Harlem area right now.
Look into Augusta, Georgia. The Army Cyber Command recently moved to Fort Gordon in Augusta, and the NSA has established major operations there, as well. This has resulted in a population increase of over 100,000 in the past decade. Due to the presence of some of America's smartest minds in cybersecurity at Fort Gordon, a small number of tech companies are beginning to crop up. I imagine that this trend will continue. Federal and medical jobs, the two major components of Augusta's economy, are largely recession-proof.
Look into properties in Columbia County, GA for the best chance of appreciation. You might find good opportunities in Richmond County, but families moving to the region almost exclusively end up in Columbia County due to differences in the two school systems.
Accountant · Summerville, SC · Member since 2020 · 57 posts · 67 votes
5y
@Nathan Barshinger I have 2 LTR properties in Fayetteville. I would say I have the core 3 in place with some connections for the fourth of needed. I’m happy to share their info with you. As mentioned by others, Fayetteville offers a military presence as well as great potential for cash flowing rentals. Appreciation won’t be as fast as other locations, but I think you’ll find that trade off anywhere. My agent specializes in working with investors. Feel free to send me a message if you’d like his info.
Granada Hills, CA · Member since 2019 · 97 posts · 313 votes
5y
@Allen Wu Hey Allen, I buy in Augusta for all the reasons everyone else listed. I don't know that I'd say Augusta has class A neighborhoods, but there are a lot of B. Basically anything west of the city and north of the 20 + southern Grovetown. There's a good article on the area from Roofstock https://learn.roofstock.com/bl...
You can still find good value. I closed on a northern Grovetown (near evans) 3b2b for $155K last month that's rented for $1250, and another in Martinez for $145K that's currently listed for $1,200 (you want to move in?). In both cases they're cashflow positive despite reserving 25% of rent for vacancy, maintenance, and CapEx. I'm estimating a 10 year inflation adjusted return of ~11% with conservative assumptions. That's at least double the stock market without taking tax advantages into account. And if rents go up faster than inflation or appreciate is as strong as zillow thinks, they're home runs.
But it was a lot of work to find them. The Grovetown property was off MLS and the Martinez property I put an offer in, with no appraisal contingency, using the sellers agent within 2 hours of it listing. I had it under contract mid week in under 72 hours and in that time wasn't even the highest big, just the most attractive and promoted by the agent.
I have a friend that invests in Atlanta, but that starts shifting toward speculating on continued strong appreciation. You get better cashflow out of the secondary markets. Theoretically that's a trade off for lower appreciation, but that's just a guess. Secondary markets can still appreciate strongly.
My two pieces of advice are (1) pick a market and really get to know it. You can't evaluate what a good deal is if you don't understand the landscape and what your own goals are. and (2) buy based on the deals you can find, not the ones you dream of. The market is tough right now, I haven't seen anything in a decent (B) market that provides huge cashflow like people talk about from a few years ago. And the people who are finding those deals are super experienced and have the inside track on getting them, or are very very lucky. If you find something that provides a return you're happy with I'd go for it.
Random side note, the other market I really like beside Greensboro is OKC