All Forum Posts by: Jiri B.

@Michael Gustavo What brings you to Raleigh? Are you planning on moving here or just having out of state investments?

Probably the the best option for you might be to find a local small banks or credit unions. Typically you can just get a list from google and call them to see what type of loans / financing they might have for you. Its really easy to do. There are many new loan programs so the best advice you can get is directly from them. I would recommend avoiding any larger institution banks.

If you are planing on purchasing under LLC, then keep in mind, you will have harder time finding a lender for that. Many new investors purchase their first property under their names using conventional loans. But that just something to keep in mind, depending on you specific needs.

The maximum LTV banks typically do for investment properties 75% so keep that in mind when trying to figure out what you can afford. It means a decent amount of cash that most new investors get really surprised about.

As @Andrew Kerr mentioned, you can also look into house hacking using FHA or VA loans if you plan on living here in Raleigh. You will be required to live in the property as your primary residence for at least 1 year and then 2 out of 5 years to avoid paying capital gains.

And as always, make sure you understand the local market well and have realistic expectations!

Ok, im gonna try to help here but not my field. Just FYI. 

For cash 150k property, i would say typical attorney fees would be $600-$800. Add title insurance $400-$600.

Deep prep around $100-$200 but its paid by the seller (NC state law i think).
It should be very easy to just call few attorneys if you don't have one and just ask that. Those are pretty much flat fees so it will depend on the specific attorney.

The transfer taxes / stamps are 1$ for every $500 i think. So for 150k property, that would be $300.

Wire transfer fee $25.

I only done couple of cash transactions so this is the best i can provide just by looking at my settlement statements.

I always use the same attorney. He handles pretty much everything for me in regards to any legal stuff for my real estate.

Thanks for clarifying on that @Ken Power .

You also mentioned you have construction background and potentially could get licensed here as well. I think that is great benefit to do real estate close to where you live and take advantage of your background.

Definitely keep this thread updated with what you end up doing and how that worked for you. There are many potential investors here and in the future going through the same or similar situation that could learn from you or your journey!

@Ken Power if you do mange to get loans, without any credit history, you will most likely end up paying a much higher interest. (im talking double digits) which might make it very unfavorable for any longer time investments. Especially for those amounts you are referring to but definitely call the local smaller banks / credit unions as they would be the most likely to give you better financial advice on what to do in your case.

But what you said sounds about right. You will likely even have to get a secured credit card to kick start your credit. Many people who move here from overseas have the same issue and even having issues getting their first credit card to build the credit because you still need a credit to get the credit card... 

In your case, i would maybe just consider buying cash, then build your credit and couple of years later, refinance and have bunch of cash to triple your investments.

You might also need to do a little more research on Charlotte, NC. You mentioned purchasing 60k single units.. That is completely unrealistic expectation in that market that tells me, you need to do a better homework on seeing what is out there. Having 650k cash and not knowing anything about the market is a complete gamble, not an investment strategy.

Hey @Matthew Maggy ! There has been few posts lately about the Raleigh market that might help to answer some of your questions. Depending on what your questions are exactly :)

https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/topics?term=raleigh

Some of the topics there have good overall info on the market, the property prices and what to expect.

I'm a local investor here in Raleigh and i actually mainly focus on BRRRR with Single Family Homes and Townhomes. So i could perhaps help answering some of your more specific questions.

I'm also a Realtor but my schedule is already full on Friday. 

Why are you interested in Raleigh? (I don't know much about Richmond market other then its 2 hours drive from here)

@Victor George 20-25% downpayment is very typical for investment property. The interest you have mentioned (5%-6%) is pretty much what i have been seeing lately. You can probably get interest around 5% if you purchase the property in your name and do 20% down. I have not seen or came across lower LTV then that nor the interest for investment properties.

As @Brian Corbett mentioned, try to talk to some smaller / local banks / credit unions. As long as your investment structure is not too complicated, they might be able to help. They are also better when issues come up before closing. Large banks are probably the worst in my experience.

I'm guessing those quotes you got are for financing the purchase under your name. You can also consider using LLC or other incorporation type and purchase the property that way. I don't want to get into any tax benefits or liability issues but that is something you should consider as well. However, you will typically pay higher interest and its a bit harder to find commercial lender.

If you are talking multi-family, it will also depend if you are referring to 1-4 units (duplex, triplex, fourplex) - RESIDENTIAL or more then 4 units COMMERCIAL.  

You also mentioned FHA loans as well as conventional. With FHA, you can go as little as 3.5% downpayment but you will need to pay PMI and have the property as your primary residence for at least one year. Conventional loans are probably what i have seen as the most common for new / smaller investors with 20% down and interest around 5%.

I would not even consider hard money for long term investments. The interest is typically 10-13% and they charge a large original fees as well.

Overall what you posted seems pretty typical.. You might save quarter of percentage point if you shop around. But also keep in mind, interest is on the rise and constantly changing.. If you can lock it for 30 years, i would do that.

@Roseann DeRosa as @Chad W. mentioned, you have not provided much details so its really hard to suggest much. Every investor is different. Everyone has different level of comfort and different strategies works for different people.

In general, Raleigh is getting hard to get a good cashflow and prices are pretty high. You really have to go further out in order to get something more affordable. On the other hand the further out you go, the less likely is your property to appreciate and the less likely is your rent to rise and harder to rent.

I personally like to invest close to where i live and where i work because i know those areas pretty well and i don't want to be driving 2 hours to check on the properties.

It also depends how much you want to be involved. Do you just want to buy something that cashflow, find a property manager and let them do the job or you want to try to mange the property yourself and keep bigger chunk of the profits?

It's really easy to get lots of information about properties online so i would suggest use those resources to find and analyze deals and then figure out what you are comfortable with. Your price range will likely drive where you can afford to invest. Then find a local realtor in that area who works with investors and let them help you find what you are looking for.

But untimely it is your job to figure out what you want.

I try not to tell people what to do, but provide some feedback to let them make a more educated decision.

Thanks for the update @Juhi Jain. 

So yeah pretty much what i though it would be. Based on the comps in that area, you could probably get around $1700/mo on rent.. But you probably already know this.. You will also spend about $100/m on HOA for that.

If you are looking for purely rental property, you could grab a nice SFH in north east Raleigh for about 180k and get $1400/mo on rent with no HOA. So that might give you better cashflow. Also will probably have better appreciation as well then a townhome.

It really just comes down to what exactly your budget is, what your short term and long terms goals are etc. I definitely have favorite locations to invest in, but when i see a good deal somewhere else, i still go and grab it.

@Juhi Jain it would also help if you specify the price of the property? Im guessing based on the general information you provided and the type of property, it would guess around 250k-300k?

Is the 2 level or 3 level townhome? I found the 3 level newer townhomes are harder to sell.. No one seems to want to walk 3 flight of stairs to a bedroom.

As for the rentals, i don't think the garage makes any difference, especially if that is a townhome. I've had renters that wanted 3 car garage and then i had renters that did not want garage at all.. I hope you get what im trying to say.
Renters are not as picky since they are no buying it and its easier for them to move if their needs changes.

If you worry about appreciation, i would go with Single Family Home. They tend to appreciate much faster then townhomes. And you also save money on HOA fees.

As for your second question, it really just depend on your price range.. Yeah, if you are in Cary, forgot about anything decent under 200k.. If you are in east Raleigh, 200k will give you a decent rental property.

@Noureen A S. to answer your specific question about the property values, i think that depends. I'm not an economist or specialist in this field, but as an investor and realtor, i don't think this would have any immediate impact on the property values. I think in might add more job security and bring more people to that location but again, those are not the hi-paying jobs like it would be the case of amazon HQ2. 

The higher traffic would be mine main concerns. Overall, long term, i think its good but i would not change my investment strategy just because of this. Just something to keep in mind when investing in that area. To me, that is a neutral thing, depending on the exact specifics of you intentions..