Radford, VA · Member since 2016 · 75 posts · 19 votes
Hello, everyone! My name is Karen Harris and I’m very new to BiggerPockets and to the world of RE investing. My background is in banking and direct sales. Have not yet purchased an investment property, but I’ve been educating myself by reading books (through which I learned about BiggerPockets) and taking online classes. I’m interested in buy and hold properties in SW Virginia (Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, Roanoke), and especially in the Charlotte, NC area. Do you know of good, reliable property managers in any of these areas? Would also love to connect with fellow investors in SW Virginia!
Welcome to BP, Karen!
I have a GREAT property manager for Blacksburg/Christiansburg. Best one I've ever found. Aaron Harris, Pointe West Management. She's managed my own things, and handled clients' as well - I've tried several and she's the absolute best!
Welcome to BP, Karen!
I have a GREAT property manager for Blacksburg/Christiansburg. Best one I've ever found. Aaron Harris, Pointe West Management. She's managed my own things, and handled clients' as well - I've tried several and she's the absolute best!
Hello and welcome to BP! I am from and raised in the City of Dallas Texas and I have never been east of the Mississippi River so I cannot help you geographically but since I am 60 years old I have some experience that will help you. I have been on BP for about 18 months and have learned a lot, especially I have not been working due to my medical recovery. I have been spending about 10 hours a day (7 days a week)and just learning and slowly getting better from my brain anuerism and a stroke I had a little over 6 years ago. I had that just 2 days before I was scheduled to prevent what happened. I originally thought it would only take about 6 months to get totally healed and in December I had my 6 year anniversary. I still hope to be walking again someday but in the meantime I have interesting things to do.
I have many things to tell you and I must be apologetic about the length of this story. I will try not to bore you too much with all my personal crap about my wife and daughter. Luckily my wife had been saving money for about 25 years from her computer programming jobs. Because of that I am not under a bunch of stress but I hope to be able to help out some time in the future. Thanks to my positions I was allowed to be with my daughter a bunch while she grew up. She is now in her 3rd year at the University of Arkansas and doing quite well on her technical courses. Last semester she made all A's and one "B". She has made me very proud of her.
Now, back to you and saying things to you about your feeling that real estate will be fun for you. You do have to enjoy doing what you select to be good at it. After you select your niche and market area there are several things you need to consider doing. One of those things is to form your own entity. You need to form some sort of corporation or a LLC to keep you personally safe in case anything goes wrong in your business and a lawsuit is filed. You might need to hire an attorney and/or a CPA to advise you on which type of company you should form. Another thing that might be useful is to get any financing you will need resolved. Getting a loan letter from them could make the seller feel comfortable with you being able to close. That letter should state the average closing time and the maximum amount you qualified for. You can then put a copy of that letter in with your offers.
Another thing you should consider is your office location. It should be convenient and have minimum distractions. You can locate your office at home if you can close it off and you should not be distracted by personal things to do while you are working. In the beginning just keep your work simple and average for that neighberhood. Knowing your selected market area is very important. Sales and marketing will greatly effect your business sucess. Continue to learn and educate yourself forever while you are doing this. Financial education will help you when you are reviewing financial statements. Knowing how to do that will help you make good decisions.
Track everything you do and review it regularly. That will help you cut expenses and gain your income. Do not try to do everything yourself. Having a primary Team that is local and experienced in what you choose to do can help you do the things you do not know how to do or do not want to do. The primary Team members are typically Attornies, real estate Agents or Brokers, CPA's (or accountants), Inspectors, General Contractors (or single trade people), and Handeymen. Do no cut any corners to make a project look better on paper.
Always remember to do the math anaysis and try to look at the prospective properties before you make an offer or at least have a clause in the sales contract that allows you some time (8 to 15 days) up front to make a detailed inspection on the subject property without a penalty that will hurt you too much. Stay in control of everything because that will help you. Do not assume anything. Do not assume that people you do not know well know anymore than you. Do not let their position name fool you. You cannot really trust anyone, especially if they get paid for your decision. I have been in the construction business since I was 17 including those college years. I also held a real estate broker active license for about 30 years but never did that full time. If you feel like I can help you with anything please contact me through BP at any time. I am usually on it every day.
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Hello, everyone! My name is Karen Harris and I’m very new to BiggerPockets and to the world of RE investing. My background is in banking and direct sales. Have not yet purchased an investment property, but I’ve been educating myself by reading books (through which I learned about BiggerPockets) and taking online classes. I’m interested in buy and hold properties in SW Virginia (Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, Roanoke), and especially in the Charlotte, NC area. Do you know of good, reliable property managers in any of these areas? Would also love to connect with fellow investors in SW Virginia!
Hello and welcome!
This is a great place to get started! It sounds like you already have some plans forming. Keep up the good work. Best of luck to you out there.
Thanks for the welcome and for the property management referral! I just checked out Aaron's website and see that she's even an RU grad. I'll definitely keep her info and will contact her when needed.
Thanks for the welcome and for sharing your story! I’m inspired that, in spite of your challenges, you’re moving forward to fulfill your goals and dreams. Sounds like you have quite a bit of experience, and I appreciate the words of wisdom and insight you’ve given. I’ve got quite a ways to go before I can put it all into practice, but I can now see a clear path before me. Thanks for taking the time to share!
Thanks for the welcome and the great tips on getting started on BiggerPockets! I've already sought to connect with other BP members in my area and have set up keyword alerts. Looking forward to checking out the BP Podcasts! I especially appreciate your tips on how to engage in conversation on the forum. Hopefully it will work this time!
I see that you're in Anaheim. My brother lives in Van Nuys, not far from you. I wish you well in your endeavors!
Thanks for the welcome and the bookstore link, Mark! You're right - BP has some great books, two of which I have already. I'm learning so much from them.
My husband and I drove through Carlsbad last summer while we were in San Diego for a medical conference. Beautiful area end gorgeous beach! I wish you all the best!
@Karen Harris, welcome to BP. You are definitely in the right place. I am on the other side of the state, NOVA. However, if your investing brings you this way, feel free to reach out. Good luck!
Jeremy, since you're a broker in the NRV, I'd really like to get your perspective on the area regarding investment potential. What do you think about this area, and what has been your investment experience here? I just read in the newspaper yesterday that RU generates an economic impact of more than $1 billion annually to the area, and I'm sure that VT surpasses that. This is a good thing, but I just don't see much else going on here, and I've lived in Radford for about 5 years. I'm concerned about property values and appreciation potential, and for this reason have been considering the Charlotte area. But you have more experience than I do and a finger on the pulse of this region. What are your thoughts and impressions of the NRV and SW Virginia as a whole? I'd really appreciate hearing your view.
@Karen Harris I need to run to an appointment, but the short answer is that I think you're on to something - hard to see the long-term potential in Radford. I've been there ~ 10 years, selling my final place there later this month. Vacancies have been climbing, despite the university's attempts to increase enrollment. Beyond that, though, there's not enough peripheral business spinning off of the university to bring new life to the city, and values have suffered.
I'm moving my attention to Blacksburg and Christiansburg. A little tougher to make the deals work, but I want to invest locally. Can make some recommendations for you in Charlotte, if you'd like.
Careful putting everything around Universities. The US education bubble is coming to a head eventually. Try and diversify so you aren't dependent on US colleges.
@Karen Harris, we're just down the road in Bristol TN/VA. It's not that different from your market and we flip quite a few. We accumulate some rentals but mostly do flips. There is much less competition for deals in smaller markets but you can't count on appreciation. Our strategy involves being disciplined and content to hit a lot of singles.
@Matt Lavinder, I've been in and through Bristol several times. It's somewhat different than my area in that there are more people, businesses, the Speedway, etc. in your area (though we do have Shelor Motor Mile Speedway here). Also, ETSU isn't far from you. You're right that a definite advantage to our area is that there is less competition. But as you said, we can't count on appreciation. How did you get started with RE investing, and what was your first experience like? What does your strategy of being disciplined entail? I have so much to learn...
Welcome to BP Karen.
I am fairly new to real estate investing and also your neighbor in Bristol TN/VA. I purchased two rentals last year and they are rented and cash flowing very nicely. My full time job is marketing across SW Virginia and I have been in Radford a number of times. I would lean towards looking at nearby Christiansburg and Blacksburg as well and have considered studying that area as a potential for future purchases.
I'm not sure that looking at the needs of college students is a bad idea as VT is thriving, but as with all of our investments, I would consider other options in the event the college scene does change.
I would be interested in connecting with you sometime when I'm traveling through the area. Let me know if you're interested.
Denise.