All Forum Posts by: Sky Mikesell

@Tony Velez    it is a good question... the reality is there is not a one size fits all... for one investor to tell you it is good or bad for you is absurd...    "a good deal"  is relevant to each and everyone of us... how much experience we have... what our goals are... how much money we have allocated for investing...  and again what our goals are... A good deal for me and a good deal for you and a good deal for donald trump are all going to be different.   If turnkey works for you right now then go for it... if you want to start tackling your own deals down the road you can. you dont have sign a contract to buy turnkey for every real estate deal forever.  you are smart for asking the question... do whatever ever is a "good deal" for YOU right now. 

Solid charlotte Investment property. House is in great condition with a great tenant.    This one wins...

                         Great house!                  Great tenant!                   Great area!

                                       Great CASH flow!              Great numbers!

   Purchase Price:  $88,900          ~            Already Leased for $885.00 per month

                                         THE NUMBERS . . . 

Purchase Price: $88,900

Gross Rent per month:    $885.00 

Principal & Interest Payment: $357.93  (based on 25% down,                                                                                                   30 yr fixed @ 5% interest)
Property Tax: $93.79

      Insurance: $40.00

      Property Management: $70.80

Total Monthly Expenses $562.52

                          NET MONTHLY CASH FLOW:   $322.48

i agree with @Trevor Ewen   so much of real estate biz is based on the people involved.   On the investment side having an operation that is systems based is essential. we run a turn key operation in charlotte and have great systems in our business based on 10 years of experience but even at that i am not sure our business would be salable to the same type of gross multipliers "widget" type business' are sold on.     I would be curious to hear from a business broker how much brand recognition plays into the sale of the business.

Hi @Alex Porter ... not sure any of us ever want to answer the question on "if a market is appreciating"   but i will do my best... 

I invest in 3 different real estate markets around the country and i qualify each market a little differently... some are cash flow only markets, some are appreciation only markets and some are a balance of each one. 

I personally believe Charlotte offers a fine balance of both cash flow and POTENTIAL for appreciation.   When i am evaluating investment property for myself or my clients i prefer to stay focused on IF the numbers work right now rather then doing my numbers based on future growth.   I never know when another 2008 is going to hit and if /when it does i prefer to have my rental properties with enough income to easily cover the expenses and enough cash flow for me to work with each month if need be.    I am sure there are many schools of thought on this topic but this is my personal approach.  for better or worse :)     good luck. 

hello @Morris Lucas  i was working as plumber living in portland, Oregon when i bought my first property... i was 19 year old and just purchased my first investment with good ol' fashion savings... through a series of rehabbing and refinancing i built up a good little portfolio before moving out to charlotte buy investment property full time.  it was then i set up my turnkey company.      I used a variety of private and bank funds to get my transactions done over the years and even now that is how i still operate.  we always have some of our own money in every transaction (sometimes by choice, most times because that is what lender requires) .       For each of us building a portfolio looks different... building it right in the right market with the right property is essential to the long term performance. their is not a one size fits all ... so figure out what you want your future portfolio to do for you and then you will know exactly how to build it.     I started with the end in mind when i started building my portfolio and i am still in the building process as "my end game" has changed a bit as life changed (kids, family vacation, etc.)    hope this helps somehow.

Hi @Morris Lucas ...

charlotte is strong i personally moved here from the west coast about 10 years ago to invest in rental property. 

In the last 10 years we have run a turn-key company and bought, renovated, leased and sold 500+ properties just int he charlotte area. 

the $25-50k price range only bring a lot of heart ache in my experience.  We target investment properties that in the $70k range (b- / C+ area)  -   $125k  (A- / b+ area)

We target areas in a 10mile radius of the downtown area for the potential of highest growth potential but our main focus when investing is making sure the property will cash flow strong.  

We are in good areas and cashflow after mortgage, taxs, insurance, and property management costs tends to be $300-$350/mo... 

there are many suburbs and outlying cities around charlotte which several others have mentioned in this thread and those areas have their own isolated real estate market different then that of Charlotte Main.

happy to help anyway i can.

Sky Mikesell

Hello @Abhi Golhar yes we look at a lot of real estate in charlotte... due to our focused strategy of turn-key only in the right areas and specific renovations we dont buy every single property that comes our way. 

I would be happy to share a few opportunities we have.  reach out to me when your free.

excellent work...looks great.

good question @Barshay Graves  ... i was a plumber many years ago and replaced a lot of galv. back then copper was the best option... these days pex pipe for water pipe is so easy to install plumbers are installing for less and makes a huge job of repipe not as much of a challenge. 

get your prices for waste and water replacement (pvc or abs pipe for waste)  (pex for water)  and shop around a bit. 

Welcome Daniel... great goals.  I also am a firm believer in building a rental portfolio to subsidize/replace current income. 

happy to talk anytime.