All Forum Posts by: Joel C.

@Brandon Baggott, I'm no expert, but here's what I've learned so far. If you're getting a loan through your LLC, you're going to be looking at commercial loans instead of your traditional 15 or 30 year mortgages. Different lenders will have different terms, but I've seen plenty of 10 and 15 year commercial loans with interest rates that are only marginally higher than you'd see with comparable personal mortgages. Most lenders will give you the loan (assuming the numbers make sense), but they're more than likely going to require that you personally guarantee the loan.

Walter Massingale at the Martinez branch of GB&T (now South State bank) has been good to me, and I've heard Scott Edwards at Augusta First is another good person to touch base with. Good luck, and I'll see you at REIA and AORE!

So what's your plan for investing, Brandon? Buy and hold? Flips?

Welcome to BP, Brandon! Look forward to seeing you at the meetings!

Dreama, I don't know of anyone using text alerts - mostly email lists from what I've seen.  Some of the BP regulars who are wholesaling here in Augusta are probably good folks to get in touch with.  @Malik Welch, @Brandon Barnes to name a few.  

For the Augusta area, David Huguenin's office has been good to me (David L. Huguenin, P.C. Attorneys at Law), specifically Clint Shearouse.  I've also heard great things about Wright McLeod (sp?).  

Regarding Fort Gordon being primarily a Signals training location - that was certainly true for most of its history, but the identity of the Fort has been changing to that of a Cyber hub.  There are large numbers of Cyber Command personnel moving into the area.  It started a couple years ago, and growth is expected to continue for 5-10 years the last I read. Their Cyber Command presence is also helping bring commercial cyber security business into the area.  

There are still a lot of trainees here, but they permanent party vs. trainee balance has been evening out.   

@Timothy Metra, I love your motivation, man! There is a lot of great advice in this thread already, but I'll repeat what a couple of others have already mentioned. I'd keep that 10k for reserves, keep saving to build the accounts, sink your teeth into learning about the local market (REIA, local real estate agent relationship, Zillow/Trulia/Realtor.com surfing, etc.), and then house hack using an FHA loan to start. There are some local agents who frequent BP who can help in some of those regards (@Betsey Davis, @Kenneth Mooney, to name a few).  I think you'll realize the tenant and property management issues aren't that big of a concern once you dig into it more or maybe talk to some local property managers.  

Looking forward to see where you take things!

@Andrew P., I'd recommend keeping your rent number where it's at if you know that's a fair price for the house you have.  If anything, it seems like a time for rent numbers to be climbing up, not slipping down, and from what I've seen, you're not going to be hurting for renters in this area.  The 2 year lease at a reduced price makes sense to lock in certain renters, but you're right that it's mostly pointless with a military renter. If they get orders in 6 months, you accepted lower rent for nothing and have to start over, and by law they won't be paying you anything extra for breaking that lease early.  Best of luck - let us know what you decide to do!  

Welcome, @Derrica Virtue! There are a handful of local investors who frequent BP, but you can also come out to the local REIA and AORE sessions to meet folks. I'll send you a contact request, and I look forward to meeting you!

I don't believe Grovetown has its own dedicated REIA - everyone from the surrounding area usually attends the Augusta REIA, held in the Columbia County Library over in Evans, GA, the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM.