All Forum Posts by: Jake Johnson

Tons of opportunities to be had. I personally live in Palmyra and we are looking to buy more in the lake. We manage rentals that are doing extremely well all over Charlottesville, Louisa, Palmyra, Waynesboro, Staunton. We have seen rents go up 20% in some cases. People are perfectly willing to drive the 30min from Louisa to Charlottesville to be out of the city a little bit. Your biggest barrier to entry right now is the labor if you buy something that needs some work. We are lucky to have an in-house crew who does it all but the rates some of these companies are charging is unbelievable and its hard to pin them down.

Blacksburg is a tough market to break into. A lot of old houses owned by older investors who let the properties deteriorate. There are some deals to be had but it’s all about your network because there are a couple large players in the area that like to gobble it all up.

Most of the rentals we manage are folks who are renting out the house they’ve been living in for years or maybe their parents have. Not many detached apartments. Most of our activity comes from Christiansburg. 

Blacksburg definitely does not like STR. They want the money from the visitors to go to the local hotels and Virginia Tech inn.

Our property management company (PMI Commonwealth) operates in Waynesboro, Staunton, Charlottesville and other surrounding areas. We would love to help if anyone is interested in these areas.

Has anyone found a good screening service that automates the landlord reference step?  We have a call with RenterFile today which seems to handle this. Has anyone used this service before?

Depends on your location. In VA we cannot discriminate based on source of income. Section 8 qualifies as an income source. So if they met all other criteria we would have to accept them.

You should interview a couple companies. Some companies dont want the liability of the owners bills. We will pay everything for you except your mortgage payments. 

All excellent points Axel

Happens all the time. Just roll with the punches and start marketing the property.

Invest in a management company. This will get you more return and keep you sane. It will also give you time to focus on growing your portfolio. Short term rentals can be tricky because of the turnover costs Just something to consider. 

I wouldn't worry about it too much. This is not a negative sign in my experience. Just someone concerned for their things. I would just tell them you are welcome to be present but you do need to show the home to prospective. Always offer to work around their schedule as much of a pain as it may be. Always provide at least 48 hours notice.