All Forum Posts by: Charles Seaman

@Lorenzo L. You do bring up some fair points and it's often tough to stand out from the crowd when so many others are doing the same thing.  Any deal has three (3) important components: finding deals, finding money, and running deals (this one doesn't matter until you find the first deal and the money to go with it).  Aside from educating yourself, the next steps are to honestly assess yourself and see where you best fit into the equation and to build sponsor relationships because these will be very important for you as you start out.

If you determine that you're best suited for the "finding money" part, then the content approach is a good way to get your name out there.  While I've done that, it was never my greatest strength.  I personally find that appearing as a guest on other people's podcasts helped to get my name out there.  You might find that this will help you as well.  Aside from using social media and content, make sure to "put yourself in the right rooms with the right people" and don't be afraid to roll your sleeves up with some good networking.

@Wendy S. There are many good paid coaching programs, but not all are the right fit for each individual.  When checking out programs, it's important to understand what they offer and how it aligns with what you need.  You can find a lot of cheaper coaching options and you can also be successful without paid coaching.  Many of the higher priced options offer stronger networks than they do coaching, so you're really paying for the network more than you are anything else.

It sounds like you already have some knowledge of real estate from your past experience.  What do you feel your greatest need is as you transition from single-family to multifamily?

@Kristin Boekhoff I generally buy larger multifamily properties, so I don't have any personal recommendations, but I did check with my insurance broker.  If it's newer than 1973 for a property this size, he recommended checking out Farmers Insurance.  He said that they're usually very competitive for properties this size.

@Matt Tortora For cash flow?  None of them.  Appreciation can be found in many submarkets throughout both Charlotte and RDU, but it really depends on what you're looking for.  My personal preference for a buy and hold would be an already established area (or an area that's still gentrifying, but has already seen significant progress).  In Charlotte, I'd personally on South End, NoDa, Plaza Midwood, Dilworth, Elizabeth, Uptown, or areas a bit further out like Ballantyne.  I'm not familiar enough with RDU to give you specific areas or submarkets.  But if you're comfortable with rougher areas, then you can definitely find properties at lower prices.

@Matt Tortora Got it.  For cash flow, I'd recommend checking out the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point) or Fayetteville in NC and Sumter and Florence in SC.  The markets you mentioned in your initial post in this thread are great markets, but they're all heavy on appreciation and light on cash flow.

@Matt Tortora Do you prefer to invest for cash flow or appreciation?  How big of property are you looking to purchase?

You're welcome @Imani Naomi.  I'm familiar with the general concept behind different creative financing strategies, but have never used them personally.  All of my deals have used different types of conventional financing strategies.  Aside from what you'll find here on BiggerPockets, you can probably some good creative financing nuggets on the websites below.

Single-Family: https://masterpassiveincome.com/

Multifamily: https://pauldavidthompson.com/

@Imani Naomi In my experience, the most successful properties I've seen are bought right, financed right, and managed right.  Being that you already have property management experience and feel confident in your ability to manage a single-family or multifamily property, it really comes down to your financial position.

If you have a good amount of cash available to put a down payment towards the purchase of a property and maintain sufficient cash reserves (or if you have a partner you can work with who does), then there's nothing wrong starting off with a multifamily property.  But if your amount of available cash is limited, then you might be better off starting with single-family and working your way up as your cash grows.  You might also want to consider some creative finance strategies to make your cash go further, if that's a concern.

@Daniel M. You can always ask for those items at any time, but it doesn't mean that you'll get them.  It's pretty typical to get an income statement and rent roll before a walkthrough and before signing a contract (there's many times that you'll also get a capital improvements summary too), but it's not as typical to get the other items prior to contract execution.

Depending on how small the property is, you might be able to push for more of these items on the front end if you're dealing with a "mom and pop" owner.  Most of my experience is with larger multifamily, so there's only so much information you're going to get from the owners of those properties on the front end.

@Sanjida Rabbani How many units is the property and what class is the property/submarket?