All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

I looked and was tempted, however you have to choose carefully. Some of them have very high service fees upwards of 40-50%, which will eat into your cash flow. $50K/year sounds like a lot until you run the numbers with that in mind. 

Gulfport MS, correct? Well done! Shooting for a spring 2023 purchase. 

I think you scored! People rent in condos and hotels that are stacked on 3-5 of 6 sides all the time, so I don't see why that would matter much. Plus you will get families or larger groups traveling together who can rent both and will have an extra kitchen, bath, etc and still be close together. 

The demographic that have a problem with that setup would probably prefer to a bit further from town anyway, so I wouldn't sweat it. 

 Yes- agreed! I can understand if there is nothing else gas and wanting to avoid the extra bill and connection cost/infrastructure. But when it's already there . . . Really? 

Think about where you live and where you have lived, and simple things that drove you nuts but could've been fixed or design better with minimal investment. I'm not talking about expensive things like an extra bathroom, I mean simple things that would've been easy to design or build had it been done correctly from start. My examples below: 

Faucets too close to the wall: Drives me nuts when the space between the wall and the faucet is so narrow that it's impossible to clean either. 

Sinks that are too small and/or faucets so big that you cannot wash your hands without touching the side of the sink. 

Countertop with faucet: If a small slope was sanded down from the backsplash towards the sink, water would drain down easily and never need to be wiped down. 

Light switches near doors: This one is so obvious and self explanatory, and any builder that does this should have their license revoked. Seriously. 

Closet off of front door: This one kills me as a Californian . . . . Every front door needs a closet for jackets and closets. I seriously don't know how families do it without their front door looking like a yard sale. 

Looking forward to what some of you suggest! 

My biggest concerns with the Outer Banks would be the elements (flood risk, sea level, shifting sands etc) and all the baggage, risk and costs that come with that. Your property tax may be low but your flood insurance could very high. Another wild card could be finding reliable help depending on how remote the property is, so you may want to ask around about that first. Closer to Wilmington this is probably not an issue. 

Both seem like great markets although as an investor I'd go Gulf coast for the same reasons mentioned above. 

That was purely the furniture, as in what we rest and eat on inside the house. I am slightly under $10/sf for those, but if you add sheets, towels, decorations, cooking utensils, patio furniture, BBQ, security etc I am probably  at another $4K for a 1100 SF 2/1. Where it gets confusing is things like the fridge and washer/dryer, which are sometimes included but for me they were not, at which point I am about at $15/SF. 

As for financing, I used a HELOC on my primary.

Everything you said and in the post above is good advice, but the general consensus seems to be that building new is almost always more expensive than buying an existing structure. Often a lot more. Lots of costs just to break ground (connecting utilities, permits, surveys, etc) that will nickel and dime you to death. You will be shelling out a lot of cash and not see a return for a long time. Plus inflated material and labor costs.  

If you are just getting started, I would go with a simple SFH or house hack a multi so you can build some cash flow and equity, then get into a project such as this when you can better manage the carrying costs.

I have no experience with Columbus but of all the cities I researched it trended near the top in regards to home cost-to-rent ratio in combination with good population and income growth. Even off the MLS you can find updated SFRs that fit the 1% rule, so with a multi you should have no issues. Has a nice population size, OSU, large companies, medical campuses, etc. I say go for it!

For long distance, try to find yourself an "errand boy" in your market, for lack of a better term. Someone who can do odd jobs like assembling furniture, accept deliveries, take videos of contractors work, fix small things, etc but won't command a high hourly rate for specialized labor. Start with small low risk jobs and scale up from there as you build some trust. 

I found a guy on ThumbTack for my house in Greenville SC under "Movers". He advertised that he also cleans out crawl spaces and power washes houses, and there is no job that he hasn't turned down. I even had a situation where I would've needed someone to represent me in person with the sheriff and he was willing, but thankfully that situation resolved itself before it got to that!