All Forum Posts by: Cameron Goodall

Hey LaShanti,

I'm also here in Charlotte and have been looking into a similar strategy, and I landed at the same conclusion as you -- there's not many multi family homes in Charlotte, and the few that there are, nothing will pencil. Investing in a bordering city is a good idea because of that if you can find a deal where the numbers will work for you. I've heard and have a friend who has an investment townhome in Huntersville -- a bit closer to Charlotte and it cashflows for him. 

Like what's been mentioned already, it all comes down to your goals for what you want this property to do for you and help you achieve. Cashflow, appreciation, tax benefits, etc. I'd run rental comps in the area for similar homes and see what they average out at, and be conservative initially expecting the lower end of what you find so you can give yourself some wiggle room. If it works in a 'worst case scenario' situation for income, then it'll be even better if you can get more for rent, for example. 

If you're in the Charlotte area, let's connect! I'm also new to REI and Charlotte in general and have been looking for my first deal here. My focus is on finding a discounted SFH or Townhome that can act as a live-in flip for 1 - 2 years to maximize rent potential before it actually becoming a rental for my portfolio. Goal is cashflow of a minimum of $200 as my primary 'exit' strategy with it.

Perhaps we can connect since we're close by. I'd love to hear your experience in Charlotte and any pointers you have on the area, and I'd be happy to talk through rental property strategy, as that's been my main focus in what I've been studying and networking with people about. 

Best of luck on your search in Hickory! 

 @Tanner Lewis yes that’s my ideal strategy! Buy something that the numbers will work as a rental and increase after some initial rehab during the first 1-2 years of having it as a primary, build additional savings and equity over time, and ultimately rinse and repeat/build a portfolio! 

@John Otradovec Yes, I get what you mean here and I appreciate it! My mistake on a rough example. Essentially what I was trying to say is if after rehab, is it still more dependent on that specific set of townhomes that the value can cap out at? As in, if I buy low in a complex and make renovations in line with other townhomes in the neighboring complex that are selling at a higher price like the example I used earlier, does that not matter because they’re in different complexes, and that has its own value in and of itself, even though they’re now the same in terms of style/updates, sqft, br/ba, etc?
With SFH it seems more flexible by suburb or general area when looking at comps. And I'm looking to understand how a townhome value is compared and measured.
I hope that gave it some clarity, but let me know! 

@Tanner Lewis Realistically I’d just put 5-10% down. I’ve also considered a 203k loan for whichever asset class I’m able to get the numbers to work with, and over the year or two I live in it, I’d continue adding to my savings and building equity so I can use that to put down on another property afterwards. Have you seen success with that? 

My main concern with townhome vs sfh is if there’s more of a “market value” for a town home despite what you put into it. As in, would it sit for sale because it’s now “worth” 350k arv despite the ones around it in the same neighborhood being listed now at 250k, as an extreme example? 

Thanks for your reply! Definitely a consideration when thinking about the reality of refinancing. 

Great to know and very encouraging! I've definitely been getting my reps in with running numbers and learning how to do deal analysis at this stage. My biggest concern though with the Townhomes was about if they have challenges with renting out or if comps are done for similar br/ba/sqft or if the actual townhome "neighborhood" has more weight than it may for SFH when doing analysis. Also unsure if you can build sweat equity in a townhome or if there's more of a "cap" to what value you can add due to the neighboring units, if that makes sense?

Hello BP Community!

As a new investor in the Charlotte area, I've taken some time to pin point the markets/areas I'd like to buy in. The thing is, it's rare to find a SFH in my target markets that fit my buy box because of either high prices or condition being a bit too distressed for what I'm comfortable taking on as a first purchase and having no experience in rehabbing a home. Town homes are abundant here and often offer more sqft. and modern updates at a cheaper price. I know there are inherent differences between these assets and SFH such as mandatory HOA, shared wall(s), no/small yards, but from an investment perspective, are they truly that different?

My Strategy:

- Buy with primary goal of renting in the future

- Live-in flip for the first 1-2 years to build equity and increase potential rental price 

Exit Options:

- Refinance and rent the property, using equity and savings to buy again, move in, and repeat

- Pull equity that built due to small renovations done over 1-2 years and purchase another property w/ intent to rent, staying in this first one

- Sell/1031 (thanks to forced appreciation from reno)

Will this work regardless of the asset being a townhome or SFH, or am I missing something? Are townhomes less likely to appreciate or more difficult to fill with a tenant? Can you not force as much equity/appreciation in a townhome because of the market value of neighboring townhomes?

Any advice or even critique on my strategy is welcome as I’m definitely still learning a ton every day.  I’m hoping to execute within the next six months as my timeline to avoid the ol analysis paralysis hang up. 
Thank you for reading this through if you have! 

 Really reassuring hearing about how you got started this way and have seen success with it. I’m in no rush to move once I get into something, especially if it makes more sense to stay out for an additional year or so. Tax strategy is something I need to start getting more in tune with and finding a CPA that can work in my area too, so I appreciate that tip! 
Sent you a connect request - can’t wait to have more updates in the near future! 

 Hey Grace! Yes, let’s connect id love to hear your thoughts on the Charlotte market and more. Definitely working on building a network here and helping others where I can as I learn, so it’d be great to chat with a local like yourself! :) 

Hey BP Community! 

I'm in the Charlotte NC area, and I've been looking to get into my first property. In the beginning, I wanted the classic small multi family house hack, but have quickly found that that's not feasible with my situation -- they're very expensive and of the few available, they're far from penciling and cashflowing. 

I've adjusted my approach now to search for a SFH with the intent of 'live-in flip' for the first year. After that, I'd refinance and either rent it out or sell/1031 to get into my next property after that that will hopefully cashflow, or I'd rinse and repeat since I have one small rehab under my belt at that point.

I've spent a lot of time researching rental properties and was comfortable with that strategy, but since nothing pencils and I'm pivoting a bit at least to get started, I feel like I'm starting over before I even began. 

Do you have any resource recommendations to learn how to estimate repair costs on a house? How to estimate ARV? Anything to learn more on this strategy?

Also, any advice or tips you have would be greatly appreciated -- I'm eager to learn and finally start taking action!

Thanks, @Glen Wiley! Appreciate the thoughts! Curious what you think in the case of not being able to find any multi family available in these markets, especially none that will pencil out? They're few and far between, and the ones that do are incredibly cash flow negative. 

Ideally, I'd go that route, I've just been discouraged from the lack of supply of multi and agree with your point that the only time better than now is yesterday -- I'm keeping my eyes open!