All Forum Posts by: Carolyn Yates

I am not sure how much equity you will have if you just purchased a few years ago, but many investors use a HELOC on their primary home for the down payment on their investment property.

I have long-distance real estate investing on my nightstand.  I need to read it as well.  As far short term rentals, Avery Carl wrote a book Short-term rental Long-term Wealth.  They detail how to buy and  self manage a property even from out of state. Some people buy site unseen and others feel more comfortable going to the property.  There are some sellers who will not accept offers sight unseen.  Reach out to other owners/managers of STRs and find out who they recommend for some of the trades you will need.  There are companies that can design the space if it doesn't sell furnished.  Many of the resort areas do sell furnished and you may just need to buy a few items.  I think once your find the property and get your team in place there will be less of the need to go see it.  You will have them to rely on.  Good luck!

There are often real estate investor groups too that may hold meetings.  They would be a great place to connect on a local level.  There are also great tools on this site to help you analyze potential deals.

It's hard to argue with any of the previous advice.  You may want to consider house hacking as your first investment.  There are many loan options available for a new home buyer and you could rent out rooms to cover the cost of the mortgage.  With the money you save on housing you could use to either pay down your debit or save for another investment or both.

There is also the concern of the liens or unpaid HOA fees. If buying at auction, I would definitely run a title search before bidding.

It is called a condo conversion and somewhat common in beach towns.  I have seen a number of them along the NC coast and then also in Florida specifically Anna Maria Island.  I would check to see if the demand is there for the units as condos before investing in the conversion.

What a successful year you have had!  I would love to hear how you were able to scale so quickly.  Did you invest only in your local market?  Congratulations on your accomplishments both at the clinic and with real estate!

Typically, with a smaller house, the selling price/square foot will be higher.  So, depending on how many square feet you add, the overall value should increase, but the price/SF of the house may actually decrease.

Yes, I would definitely want to know why the appraised value changed so much.  That's a 10.5% swing roughly.  A 5% variance is reasonable, but that is a pretty big difference.  Was there a second report or did the original appraiser change the value?  If so, was there a factual error that caused the difference like not reporting the correct square footage or amenities?  Or is the property currently not at market rent and the appraiser valued it based on the below-market rent?  I would definitely want to clarify the difference in value.  As far as the two scenarios, I would obviously go with the one that cost the least amount which would be $815,000.  That may not be an option now though with the new appraisal.  Good luck!

I have been looking into that market as well.  Is that condo gulf front?