All Forum Posts by: Levi Bennett

Hey Ava, I'll try and give you a realistic assessment. 

I grew up just north of Charlotte and lived in uptown for a time, I've been practicing some form of real estate for the last 7 years, whether a licensed agent, rehabbing, wholesaling, or developing. 

Charlotte suburbs have been red-hot pretty much since the 90s (with the brief exception of the nation-wide downturn).

In my opinion, the "investor-havens" like Belmont, Kannapolis, parts of Union County, Rock Hill are a little over-rated. Granted, they usually provide reliable returns, but the problem is that the word has been out on these areas for quite some time. The number of eyes that are on "the Charlotte metro" market from out-of-state and out-of-town investors is extraordinary. There are literally thousands of new investors every month, wanting to buy in the Charlotte area that have never actually been here. I'm not implying that's a bad thing, but the problem (for them) is that when they ask in forums like this, or on the phone, the casual investor will tell them, "Gastonia, Kannapolis, Belmont, etc.." but, everything is certainly picked over, and the competition to get property in those exact areas is outrageous. Everything is trading wayyy high in what I call, "the investor havens".

However, there is good news for the out-of-town investor, which is find those "unpopular" suburbs that people don't talk about, but are still growing like crazy. If you're an agent, you can isolate on the MLS towns, neighborhoods and zip codes and see for yourself the skyrocketing numbers for appreciation and median sales price, and the plummeting numbers of inventory and days on market. People from out of town think they need to hit a hot spot. They do not. I can almost guarantee you will over-pay if you try and buy in these popular areas. There are so many other great areas around Charlotte, that are performing very well and have huge potential, search the areas that are accessible to Uptown, but people don't talk about, and then test the numbers. You'll notice prices and inventory are much more friendly.

There is so much more to this conversation, but if you want, feel free to reach out, otherwise I hope this helps. I hope you find success in Charlotte like so many other people have, and that you get the help you need!

I've been attending meetings for the last 4 years, and by far, the best networking group is "The Exchange: Real Estate Networking Meetup"

The best part is, it's free. I could go on and on why it's the best, but just trust me as I've been to scores of them and this is the one that I have learned the most and made the most valuable relationships at.

@Charles Eng hey man, yeah no problem. I network with several decent wholesalers, and my wife and I work as a team (she's a broker) to source properties for investors and that's probably the most aggressive strategy that we've seen work. It prevents quite a bit of headache. I definitely think that's an advantageous route for you. Feel free to reach out if you want to chat more about it. 

Hey Johnny, I live in the LKN community and I know a few people that do it, generally speaking, this community is one of the most expensive in NC, and lakefront land is massively expensive to make an airbnb work. It's certainly possible, but you'd have to have some unique parameters, because usually these lots are scooped up with cash buyers that build primary residences. 

If I were you, I would go to airbnb, search for the kind of house you want, write down street names, and look for homes for sale in those neighborhoods and then crunch your numbers from there. I've spoken with a few people who have inherited homes, or have some kind of weird situation where they are able to airbnb where neighbors can't, and they cash flow extremely well, but as a general rule, I don't think many people do it because it's hard to be competitive with the market the way it is around the Lake. 

Hey Eugene. By "house-hacking" do you mean renting by the rooms? I just helped a client purchase a home (he closes today actually) and it's SFH and he's had overwhelming interest in renting out rooms. He actually bought the house because it had multiple masters and a large basement that he was going to convert into a shared office and target students and work-from home tenants.

If you're wanting small multi-family, just keep in mind that they're the most desirable competitive real estate commodity on the market, and they're very rare. They way to get one is to reach out directly to the owners on the tax record for ones that are not for sale, and make them a written offer (they get verbal offers 10x week from investors and will not take them seriously). If you're going to live in one of the units and use a loan, I would offer FULL retail price, and maybe a little more, and you'll get one. It may take some time, but I've talked to many owners of these types of properties, and they're not ignorant to what they're worth, most just don't want to go through the hassle of selling it and getting lowballed 10x/week, so you have to make it as easy as possible. It may be tricky doing this if you've never done it, I would suggest working with a broker experienced in small MF and who has experience writing offers for off-market deals (most brokers don't/won't do this). 

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this. 

Logan covered this up pretty well. Connecting with wholesalers can be tricky in all honesty because the ones that actually produce good properties are usually selling everything they acquire to a handful of investors who are paying cash. 

As far as being "late" to the party, the boom here really picked up speed in 2013 and has been surging forward for quite some time, so it sounds like as you've begun dipping your toe in the water, your expectations of how hot the market is right now is being changed. The truth is, it's been this hot for a long time. Buyers in the price range you discussed outnumber homes available in Charlotte 10:1 and so it's been the norm here for many years that houses have a multiple-offer situation. 

If you are planning on financing the property, I would say having a pre-approval letter is a "must". I'm not a broker (anymore), but my wife is, and she won't take a client who doesn't have a pre-approval or cash with proof of funds.

If you are planning on buying from a wholesaler, most houses need work to be rentable (not all, but most), but they're strictly cash-only.. if you don't want to use cash, you'll have to buy on the open retail market and compete with everyone else. 

Logan brings up a good point in that, you should definitely connect to a hard-money lender, as they provide an avenue to submit a cash offer, and you can refi after you close and renovate. 

There's always plenty of deals out there, it really just depends if you are prepared to do what it takes to get one. A good broker or wholesaler should be able to guide you through the process of being prepared. There's a lot more to getting property than just submitting an offer. 

Hey Whitney, the due diligence rules in NC are not required, but they're customary in within the state. Most sellers will expect one.

Speaking from my 4 years of wholesaling experience, you will want to produce your own specifically worded contract for each state. Every state will have different laws and expectations. This isn't really necessary if you're new, but if you plan to be in it a while across multiple states I would recommend it. You don't need it, technically speaking. In your case, it may be helpful to use two different contracts, one for your initial offer without the DD, and if they want one, you can have a second contract that has it in and just keep it minimal.

Most wholesalers will pay the DD because wholesale homes are very few and far between in Charlotte, there is no shortage of demand as everyone wants rehabs here. 

As to your question about wholesalers.. there are many here, and it seems like hundreds more added each week, but most don't last. Competition is fierce, so unless you're prepared to put in a lot of sweat equity and/or money into marketing, you may find it challenging, especially if you're not familiar with our market. 

Anyway, hope this helps! Good luck. 

@Percy N. do you think an investor who is going under contract needs to know all the details of our expenses? My contractor is very experienced building lareg commercial and residential properties, and this project is on the smaller side for him, but he's very confident in the feasibility analysis he gave us. 

We do have a detailed breakdown, but not sure how that serves us in trying to sell the property. Obviously the concern is, someone looks at the analysis and says, "you're making HOW MUCH?" and then offer us less. 

Again, I'm new to this, so I'm open to be educated on what's appropriate. 

@Jon A. it's not built yet

@Danny Randazzo is there an easy way to search for brokers who have successfully closed a multifamily deal? I have MLS access so I guess I could look at closed deals there? Any other suggestions? Great advice, thank you!