All Forum Posts by: Devon Shewmaker

Welcome Tish! I'm a new investor and just got my license hung with REMAX Peninsula. Let me know if you have any questions! Make sure you soak in every podcast/webinar/blog you can get your hands on in here. This place is a gold mine.

I've been on BP for a while, but recently got my license. Just posting it in the BP world for people to know they can find me. 

Glad I could help! Let me know if you need anything else. I'm an agent in the area, have lived here for a bit, and a soon to be investor myself. So I'm always happy to help investors. :) 

For 23061 it really depends exactly where the property is. If you stay to the West side of Jefferson you're in a HIGHLY coveted area known as Hilton Village. These are older Victorian/colonial homes with some old money. You can find great flips in this area from time to time, but rare. If you are on the East side of Jefferson you are basically the opposite of Hilton Village. It's kinda rough ghetto, but if you don't mind that there's always going to be tenants. For 23669 you once again have a split on the West side of 64 you have an up and coming neighborhood. Seems like builders are trying to push the ghetto out of the area which is working because they're building new construction and bringing in a lot of first time home buyers. On the east side you have a well established neighborhood called Fox Hill. Spots of ghetto but for the most part Fox Hill is fantastic and whenever you mention Fox Hill people are ready to sign. Just a really good area for first time home buyers. One thing to note is that school districts in these areas are terrible. Like, the worst on the Peninsula. So it may be hard to find family tenants (unless you're in Hilton Village) but you will have a ton of single military members banging down your door.

Hey everyone! Just want to introduce myself as a new licensed agent in Hampton Roads, VA. Obviously investor friendly. 😊 I'm with RE/MAX Peninsula, we have three offices; Williamsburg, Newport News, and Gloucester. So if you're interested in Yorktown, poquoson, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, gloucester or even Richmond I am here to serve you. I'm currently not investing myself since my other half is deployed, so help me scratch my itch of hunting down some great deals! 😉 Devon Shewmaker RE/MAX Peninsula Licensed to sell real estate in Virginia

I've never heard of a turn-key investment until y'all brought it up. Im curious though after some research a pattern is emerging that this is really remodeled rental properties for investors to purchase that have property management already in place. Is that what a typical "turn-key" that y'all are talking about is? If so, that's not really the business model. The business model is really meant for someone to purchase as their primary residence. There is potential for an investor to buy, however I wouldn't have property management in place. 

Good Morning everyone,

Im a newer member to BiggerPockets and I have been trying to test out my idea for a business and just wanted to know y'alls thoughts. The business itself is a team of realtors and contractors, myself and my husband included, to provide the client a sort of one stop shop for their buying and renovation needs. We will help the client find an undervalued home and then renovate it to their needs/desires within the company. It is basically flipping only you have a client from start to finish. I know that this leaves less room for profit and head ache than a fix and flip, but as a veteran and a military spouse in a high military population, I want to provide those families with equity since at any moment they can get orders, and I hate seeing people I know pay an arm and a leg to sell their house because they didn't have an equity in their home. I may be a dreamer with this business plan but that's why I come to you to get your feedback. Thank you in advance. 

I really think if you stay on the Peninsula side that your typical renter will be a military member, but there will be two types of military members. The standard family, which will worry about location, good school districts and so on. And then the younger single military member that usually wants to bunk up with some friends to reduce the cost of rent since BAH isn't that much for lower ranks, which care more about entertainment and big bedrooms for everyone. So if you want to stay close to base I would suggest Fox Hill in Hampton, this would be aimed more towards your younger members because its about a $5-10 cab ride from the "clubs", but super close to the downtown pubs, which tend to be more popular. Be careful though because once you get out of the Fox Hill/Elizabeth Lakes area it becomes a dump really, and the school districts in Hampton are horrendous. If you're looking for Newport News, Hilton Village is where you want to be. Its a very old district, kind of uppity, with gorgeous victorian homes. You can find a gem in there. The school district for Elementary is fantastic, so you'll want to target young families. Yorktown has the best school district in the area so anywhere in Yorktown is highly coveted. If you go to Poquoson be careful because this area can flood and the flood insurance is outrageous. But this area would be good for families that want that small town feel. We are starting to see the area expand because it's just overpopulated, so people are starting to go out to Williamsburg and Gloucester. Williamsburg is a great area because it historic and gorgeous, but usually a little expensive. Totally worth it though if you can afford a property up there because it is coveted. Gloucester is more of the countryside, its beautiful but you may have a hard time finding a renter, this area would probably be better for flipping.

Langley AFB will not be downsizing, if anything they will see a flood of members coming in. My husband and I are both military working at Langley and with General Welsh coming out saying the Air Force is severely undermanned and Langley being one of the biggest intelligence hubs in the nation, it's safe to say it's not going anywhere. The mission is too essential and its in the prime location. So in the next few years I would expect an increase of Air Force members in the area, whom usually stay on the peninsula since the tunnel traffic is horrendous. Historically when the Chief of Staff says they are undermanned, retention bonuses are close behind. Also Langley tends to be a "black hole", which means that people get stationed here and get stuck. To put it in perspective, my husband and I have been here for over five years, which we have been RENTING the ENTIRE time, we are now under contract to buy a home because our requests have been denied to move because we're undermanned. It happens ALL the time, especially for intelligence careers like mine. 

Hey Scott I live on the opposite side of the water from Brittany, in the Hampton, Newport News, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Gloucester side. Have been here for 5 and a half years, so I know this side pretty well. You can email me,  or send a pm on here and I will gladly help you narrow down your search area. Although this area is small, each city is VERY different. Its all about military families in this market, so location and schools are pretty much going to be the big selling factors for both renters and buyers. Good luck! :)