All Forum Posts by: Justin Whitfield

Do you have any other pictures?

We are looking for a builder/contractor in the Upstate (we are in Anderson) who is willing to work with investors.

We have a few projects we are currently discussing and also possibly a few big renovation jobs.

Contact me either on here or by email, look forward to connecting with someone.

We are looking for a builder/contractor in the Upstate of South Carolina (we are in Anderson) who is willing to work with investors.

We have a few projects we are currently discussing and also possibly a few big renovation jobs.

Contact me either on here or by email, look forward to connecting with someone.

@Adam Gaines You mentioned they were friendly, have you explained to them you are buying the house and plan to live there? You could always offer to give them some money ($100 or something) if they go ahead and move.

I would call the magistrate court for your area and explain the situation, they will tell you what you need to do. There's no lease with the tenants, and if there is no offering of rent by them/acceptance of rent by you then you don't have a landlord/tenant relationship with them. 

You will most likely have to give them written notice, which will include a time frame, that they need to vacate the property, and then file a notice to quit with the magistrate court if they don't comply with your written notice.

These are just guesses on my part based on my experiences. Definitely contact the magistrate court before doing anything.

You'll never know if you don't take the time to investigate. That's a lot of what real estate investing is all about - digging deeper than everyone else. Maybe it's sat on the market for 142 days because everyone else is also thinking "I don't want to waste my time and then find out something's wrong". If you really think from your calculations a property could cash flow $500-600 a month, then it's hardly a waste of time to contact a broker to check out a property.

You don't have to contact a broker to do initial investigating to see if there's glaring issues with the property. Drive over there yourself and check out the neighborhood, the lot, the building, the roof, the exterior, see if any windows are busted/missing. Look through windows and try to get a glimpse inside if there's no pictures on the listing. If the property is listed and has a sign out front, no one will think anything about it if you're checking a property out.

On the other hand, maybe there IS something wrong with the property and that's why it's been on the market for 142 days. You'll never know unless you take some time and do some research and investigating though.

I bought a duplex (and I currently live in one side) after it was on the market for 154 days. It was shown many times and people were scared away by the smell (fixed by removing and replacing old carpet) and some other things (new roof, appliances, paint, etc.). Even after spending 15k on repairs and improvements my total debt on the property is only 40% of the ARV.

Even if his dad lost the property he should still be able to get an easement by necessity to allow access to the property. However, he would have to prove there is actually a necessity, this might be hard to do with undeveloped and wooded land.

He should seek advice from a real estate attorney.

Comps should be within 1/2 a mile to 1 mile away preferably. 30 minutes away is light years away for determining comps.

Crossing state lines aside, your market can be completely different from one street to the next let alone a completely different city.

Running some quick numbers in my head, I think you would be losing a decent amount of money per month on this deal. Does that mortgage payment include insurance and taxes? or is it a 15 year loan?

I don't know what your goal is for living in one side, but you will still be putting your own money into this property every month to keep up with the mortgage and repairs.

Are you 100% occupied? If yes, you should definitely consider it. 

If not, I would leave the current tenants' rent the same and rent the vacant units at an increased amount.

You just have to take an educated guess at the reaction of your tenants. If you think it will alienate them and make them move, don't do it.

From those numbers, the D property would be the best return.

From my experience you always have higher cash flow in the "war zone" or D grade neighborhoods. The houses still command moderate rent, but are dirt cheap. You just have to control the situation and the tenants. It's more management intensive and that's why on paper they have better numbers.

I have a house in a D neighborhood that my cost basis in it is around $11,000.00 and I get about $235 cash flow from it. That's a great return on my investment, lots of cash flow, but it doesn't have much equity.