All Forum Posts by: Brooke Cottrell

Hi Julian & Ryan, apologies for the delayed response!  Despite a short lull with the onset of COVID; both of our Airbnbs have exceeded our profit targets for the year with no signs of slowing down thus far.  (I still need to list the 2nd property we put into service in June on BP.)  Our occupancy has been above 80% for both properties.  Ryan -- let me know if you found a place in the area or if I can ever answer any questions. 

Hope all is well in your directions!

I missed this one; but will see you all in February!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Charlotte.

Purchase price: $128,950
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $191,000

700 sq ft.
1BR / 1 BA condo
South End neighborhood

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I purchased this condo as my primary residence in 2006; but flipped it over to a rental in 2008. Even after 13 years and the neighborhood literally exploding - I was still not cash flowing what I wanted each month. Partially due to special assessments with the HOA, etc....but essentially I knew I could take my equity and make it work harder elsewhere.

What was the outcome?

I was able to use the proceeds to purchase 2 new investment properties via 1031 exchange that each have a (conservative) cash flow of $350/ month.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $287,000
Cash invested: $25,000

I purchased this 3/2 SFH as a primary residence right before the neighborhood really took off. I also house hacked this property for ~4 years letting my friends live in the two spare bedrooms and netting down what I paid towards the mortgage and allowing me to spend ~$25K in improvements over the course of several years.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We flipped it over to a long term rental in October of 2017 with a monthly cash flow of $800 PER MONTH. Crazy.
Because this property had appreciated considerably over the course of the past 9 years; we decided to do a cash refi in May of 2019 to free up the equity we had in the home. This took our cash flow down to $300 / month but enabled us to have immediate access to cash on other opportunities.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional financing when originally purchasing in 2010.
Cash out refinance completed in 2019.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons Learned: It took me a while to REALLY start treating my properties like a business. Since I was often dealing with friends at that time; I felt like I had to give them a killer deal.....when they were probably just hoping for something that was a little less obnoxious than what the apartment complexes in the area were charging.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Lizette & Darren Conover were the agents who helped me with this purchase. I was very green at the time and really went above and beyond to make sure the transaction went smoothly - always with my best interests in mind.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $287,000
Cash invested: $25,000

3/2 Single family home in Plaza Midwood neighborhood of Charlotte.
I purchased this home in 2010 as a primary residence right before this neighborhood really took off. I also house hacked this property for ~4 years letting my friends live in the two spare bedrooms and netting down what I paid towards the mortgage and allowing me to spend ~$25K in improvements over the course of several years.

We flipped it over to a long term rental in October of 2017 with a monthly cash flow of $800 PER MONTH. Crazy.

Because this property had appreciated considerably over the course of the past 9 years; we decided to do a cash refi in May of 2019 to free up the equity we had in the home. This took our cash flow down to $300 / month but enabled us to have immediate access to cash on other opportunities.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional financing when originally purchasing in 2010.
Cash out refinance completed in 2019.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons Learned: It took me a while to REALLY start treating my properties like a business. Since I was often dealing with friends at that time; I felt like I had to give them a killer deal.....when they were probably just hoping for something that was a little less obnoxious than what the apartment complexes in the area were charging.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Lizette & Darren Conover were the agents who helped me with this purchase. I was very green at the time and really went above and beyond to make sure the transaction went smoothly - always with my best interests in mind.

Hi Jerry, thanks for reaching out! Our average rate YTD is $185/night with daily operating costs around $65 (PITI, utilities, supplies, welcome gifts, etc.). Just to give you some context; we started renting it out in mid-May and have kept it rented 70% of the time with an average stay of 3.7 days. I'm expecting to hover close to the $200/night range next year now that we have set rules within the Airbnb platform to tweak our rates / length of stay mins to better align to peak seasons.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $100,000
Cash invested: $18,000

Forclosure listing - purchased in 2012
700 sq. ft.
1 BR / 1 BA
SouthEnd Neighborhood of CLT

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I had been renting out another condo in the same complex for four years prior when I came across this foreclosure. I knew the area was rapidly becoming more and more desirable and would (generally) be easy to find a quality tenant.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal while running a "landlord" errand at the other unit I owned.
I've now owned this property for over 7 years; so I don't remember the details of the negotiation, but remember that landing on an agreed upon price was more challenging than I had imagined. (This also could have been my frame of reference at the time.)

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional --- Bigger Pockets or BRRRR was not even on my radar at this point.

How did you add value to the deal?

This was post closing; but I did put ~$15K into the unit to make sure the finishes would warrant the rent I wanted to charge.

What was the outcome?

So far so good. I am just now on my 3rd tenant; so have been fortunate to have renters who stay for 2+ years.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

1.) Knowing what I know now, I could have spent considerably less on the renovations.
2.) I was charging less than market rate....no wonder they stayed so long. Duh! I recently flipped this over to a property manager who more than pays for itself through higher rental rates and less stress for me.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

White Property Management www.whitepropertymgmt.com

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Blowing Rock.

Purchase price: $289,000
Cash invested: $10,000

Three bedroom, two bath vacation rental in Blowing Rock, NC.
Self managed.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Selfishly its located in an area that my husband and I enjoy. Best case scenario, it would be a nice source of cash flow each month. If it was a total flop; we justified that we could still enjoy having a get away less than 2 hrs. from our home. Not to ruin the surprise - but it has been killing it. So glad that we took the plunge.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Good ol' fashioned MLS.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional financing

How did you add value to the deal?

Since our purpose was to use the property as an Airbnb; our #1 priority was to make our property appealing to potential renters. We did this through some very light aesthetic updates (fixtures, paint, etc.)...but nothing that would actually add significant value to the property.

What was the outcome?

It's our top money maker by far....which is important since: 1) We are self managing and 2) It's such a high touch point property.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Challenges:
1) Staying on budget with furnishings, decor, etc. I had a tendency to want to turn this into a "passion project".
2) Being on top of your calendar at all times - especially if you are listing across multiple platforms.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Douglasville.

Purchase price: $138,500
Cash invested: $50,000

First 1031 Exchange, First Experience Using Roofstock, & First Out of State Investment Purchase

I had sold a condo that really didn't cash flow and wanted to use the proceeds to purchase 2 cash flowing properties. This was the first of the two purchases. Using Roofstock gave me the confidence to actually pull the trigger on a property out of state.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was turnkey with a renter already in place.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Roofstock.com
I had heard about Roofstock through listening to the BPP. I was intrigued and set up an introductory call to get more info on the service; but the idea of buying a house over the internet still seemed a little risky / irresponsible at this point. Their team did an exceptional job qualifying the types of properties based on the parameters I provided. (Fast forward 6 months and I've bought 2 more properties using their service...so I clearly think they are a value add.)

How did you finance this deal?

1031 Exchange. I did end up having to put more towards the down payment than I originally intended. We were in the process of purchasing a new primary residence and needed to tweak our debt to equity ratio.

What was the outcome?

This has been a seamless transaction. The area is appreciating and has provided solid cash flow each month. Roofstock also connected me with their partner property managers in the area -- which was also a first for me since I had previously managed all of my own properties. It has been really nice not having to deal with the day to day minutia.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Check out Roofstock - especially if you are investing out of state for the first time!