All Forum Posts by: Mark Stevenson

Congrats on your first property, and thanks for giving the detailed numbers. I don't know Raleigh, but Durham and Chapel Hill aren't that different, and it's not easy to find numbers like that without going to sketchy parts of town. Sounds like you did great, you're in with low money out of pocket, house hacking and setting yourself up for the next purchase down the road. Even if you did overpay (not sure you did), unless you're willing to move to another market, you have to jump on opportunities that work for your situation. I have regrets I didn't get "in the game" earlier, you're on the way.... well done...

@Dawn Brenengen, thanks for that. Finally made it through the podcast (never thought there would be a downside to my new 10 minute commute!!), lots of helpful info there. May chat you up about Raleigh a bit if you don't mind...

@Matthew Hux, thanks for the thoughts and good luck in your searches. At this point I want to try to minimize headaches from tenants, so not ready to compromise much there. I'm starting to think on ways to find property before it hits MLS, it's not easy.

@Jordan T., thanks. I agree on Durham, seems like the "trendy" places downtown and near 9th street get snapped up in seconds and at prices that would never work as rentals. And war zone is not my cup of tea...

@Account Closed, wow... you kind of blew up my brain there. Lots to chew on. Thanks for the insight, really appreciate all the thoughts. 

Thanks Henri, much appreciate the insight, good luck to you!

Would be curious if anyone might be able to share what kind of Cap Rates and COC returns you typically see in buy-and-hold SFH and 2-4 unit MFs, in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.

I've been looking primarily in Chapel Hill and some in Durham. If trying to get into A-or B-level neighborhoods, it seems a very high cost for lower returns. Maybe it's just lack of inventory, but best case seems to be a 6% cap rate. And with housing costs so high, some are negative cash flow, but COC return no better than 4-5%. (Obviously that's highly variable based on financing, but I'm looking at 20-25% down.) The 1% rule for rental rates just doesn't seem possible, maybe 0.9% at high end, more likely 0.75%.

There are definitely some better numbers in lower income areas of Durham, but there's obviously higher tenant risk in those areas and I'm generally hoping to find units in high performing school districts for long term reliable tenants.

Are these numbers in line with what you have seen historically? Are the numbers any better in Raleigh, Cary or elsewhere? I'm not often east of the airport so don't know those areas at all.

I'd prefer to stay local (though would still be using property mgmt company), but have also looked at some turnkey properties. Obviously you pay a premium, but even with that, and after adjusting for some of the rosy numbers these companies suggest, there still seem to be many with cap rates of 9-10% and COC return of 15-20%. I don't have any info about neighborhoods, so these may be in undesirable neighborhoods and may be poor comparisons.

Would love to hear from anyone who may have thoughts on any of the above. Thanks! :)

Hi all, been lurking for a while, finally getting around to an "official" account. Very part-time investors here - we've owned a single family rental for about 5 years and done fine with it, but looking to add to portfolio. Have done a few live-in flips over the years, and recently downsized our primary residence to free up some equity for additional buy-and-hold REI. Been debating about staying local vs turn key opportunities in markets with better numbers. Still a lot to learn. :)