All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

Tankless options tend to be significantly more expensive than normal water heaters.  2-3K vs <1K installed, in our neck of the woods.  That said, I had one situation where I opted for tankless anyway because the existing water heater just took up too much space in an already small kitchen of a <1000sqft 3/1 property. With coupons and by hook and crook, I was able to get it installed through Lowe’s for just exactly $2000.  So far, I’m very happy with it.  Tenants are happy to have unlimited hot water and save a few dollars (gas vs electric).

The main driver, in this situation clearly was space.  If not for that, I would have just replaced the old 40 gallon electric unit.  But in this situation, tankless made sense to me As there was no room in the crawl space and I would not consider placing a water heater in the attic (as someone else mentioned).  Too hard to drag it up there and too high a risk of leaks, IMHO.

I agree - this is a VERY likely scenario.... 

Look further out - I think places like Mebane, Graham or Burlington are well within commuting distance to RTP (as well as Greensboro) and will be taking off (to the extent that haven't already...)

Raleigh burbs (especially to the South, but also North and East) will explode further once the "outer loop" is done (See @Chris Martin 's recent posts regarding I-540)

If you are asking whether rents will increase relative to home values then, barring a MAJOR correction, I don't expect that anytime soon. I see home value increases continue to outpace rent increases, so your "2% rule", which is already below a "1%" rule, will probably end up in the "1/2 % rule" territory in the very near future.

RTP and Charlotte areas have slowly changed from "mixed cashflow/appreciation" plays to "mostly appreciation" plays.  More rural NC areas still do ok for cashflow.

You neglected to include several items in the "cost" column. Turnover cost (cleaning and repairs, but also typically 1-2 weeks of turnover time with no rent - it's possible but very rare that you can turn over in just a day or two, even in a strong rental market), then there will be service calls/repairs/appliances replacement and maintenance, flooring, painting, etc. a condo will have less maintenance and repairs than a SFR, but it will definitely not be zero. In reality, your projected $100 cash flow will almost certainly end up being in the negative.

There is a pretty good chance for appreciation (assuming you buy in the right location), the RTP area is a pretty save long term bet for in my opinion, but keep in mind that we are at the upper end of the market cycle right now and while long term appreciation is likely, don’t think “west cost numbers”.  There is still a lot of fairly inexpensive land available in reasonable commuting distance, so we will not see any San Francisco or Seattle type numbers anytime soon.

All that said, an investment may still suit your needs - just be aware of the whole situation.

Also, while it is true that newer constructions will need less maintenance at first, they do age and after 5-10 years, they will be "older construction". You are just kicking the maintenance can a little further down the road. Year 10-15 is when a lot of those start hit (including potential HOA assessments for roof replacement or landscaping/community pools, etc)

If YOUR driveway is encroaching on the property of the apartment complex then the new owner has every right to demand you remove it or agree to some sort of settlement. 
The fact that your property has changed owners 3 times isn't really relevant - just means that none of them (apparently including YOU) bothered to get a survey as part of their purchase.  This is NEVER a good idea, for exactly this reason.  As the current owner, you are now holding the bag for this situation.  Starting with a survey of your property is a good idea (yup, $500 bucks, but frankly, you should have spent that when you purchased the property).  Also, you can ask the owner or attorney of the property that is making the claim for a copy of THEIR survey.  Chances are they'll be happy to provide that.  Then, if both surveys agree that your driveway is indeed located on your neighbor's property, you can negotiate some sort of a deal (or re-route your driveway, if that is possible). Of course, I also agree with the suggestion to search records/deeds to make sure there isn't a recorded easement in place already.

I seem to recall that NC changed laws not too long ago that make this trickier than it used to be.  If I recall correctly @Karen Rittenhouse   used to write about it.  Maybe look up some of her old posts

You may be able to pull it off, but because it is such a stretch for most people, it represents a large red flag to the IRS.  Therefore an audit is likely and you should be prepared to supply documentation (a very detailed daily log of all of your RE activities appears to be essential).  If you have credible documentation, go ahead and claim it.  Be aware that even if all your tasks add up to the right number of hours, the IRS will judge every individual task and decide whether it is “allowed” or not, so if they disallow some, then you may still fall short.  
For example, spending 2 hours fixing the toilet in one of your self-managed rentals almost certainly qualifies.  Running internet searches for new RE deals or pulling crime statistics for a place at the other end of the country where you “might” want to invest in the future, may well NOT hold water in the eyes of the IRS

I would advise exploring ductless split systems too but don't automatically rule out running regular ductwork. It really depends on the particular situation.  If you have a great crawl space or easily accessible 1st floor attic space putting in ductwork might be cheap and easy.  If you are sitting on a concrete slab and have a 3-story side-by-side duplex, then ductwork will likely be cost prohibitive.  Have the HVAC guy explain both options.

UPDATE: I have continued to experience confusion and conflicting stories with regards to their servicing. I really want to escrow HOA fees and I was told by multiple people that this would not be a problem - however, as we finalized the deal, someone suddenly said: "no, we can only do escrows for taxes and insurance". Too much turnover and too little knowledge of their own procedures for MY comfort. Thus, I decided to service the note myself and also terminate my investment in the AHP note fund. This whole experience made me lose confidence in AHP - looks to me like they are going down the tubes...