All Forum Posts by: Matt Rothwell

Thanks guys, I'll check out the Zillow rental manager, and thanks for validating the sign thing.  I've got a great relationship with the neighbors and I live in the other side of the duplex I'm renting.  

The lease goes until August, so I've got a little bit of time to figure this thing out.  

@Joe Splitrock:

I've got a sign for the front yard already, but I don't really want to clutter up other people's yards with pointer signs, this is a nice neighborhood and I won't make any friends doing that.  

@Keith N.:

Its funny that making the language worse got you better results, but I wonder if it was just the shorter ad that got people hooked in.  Also, refresh 3x a day?  Nutty! I didn't even know Craigslist would let you do that.  

My inherited tenants are moving out after two years.  They were great tenants, but they both got their PhDs and are moving onto bigger and better things out of state.  So now, I need to get me some tenents!

When I was looking for a place to live before I bought my place, I always checked craigslist, but its surprisingly barren in the "ITB" area of Raleigh, NC.  I definitely still plan on posting there (its free...), but is there something else that people are using to get tenants?  I'm also doing a yard sign, well, because, why not?

Ideal tenants are young professionals or grad students at NC State, unit is a small 2/1 but in a really fancy location and within a mile of NCSU.  How would you Biggerpockets people market to this demographic?

I don't want to come off as snarky, but if you've been doing your research and due diligence, shouldn't you know where to invest? There's not a whole lot of great deals coming on the market right now, the Raleigh market is hot. Have you consulted your Realtor? He or she might have a good idea of where to look. We have a variety of properties here in Raleigh, just like any city, and your risk tolerance is going to play a large role in what you end up getting. 

Are you looking high-end? Low-end? Turn-Key? Fixer-upper? (It doesn't sound like you've got a 9-5, that might be a good option). 

Anyways, I'm thinking a 30-day timeline might be a little tight for this project. Take some time driving around the city, ITB, SE Raleigh, Cary, etc, and see what you're comfortable with. 

Its been almost three years since I've lived in Chapel Hill, but here's my 2¢ on the topic:

Just about all of Chapel Hill is nice (except for the northwest corner of Franklin and Columbia St, but even that part is still nice relative to other areas) so you don't really need to worry about living in a warzone, but its overpriced in my opinion.  Taxes are high, and so is property value.  Rent is high too, but the larger apartment complexes on the edge of town put a downward pressure on all of the rents, so the rent vs buy ratio tips more in favor of renting.  

Your best bet for house hacking is Durham, stuff there is way cheap and there are a ton of bargains to be had.  There's a bus (TTA) that goes direct from downtown Durham to Chapel Hill Campus.

I'm thinking it might actually help me out. The Raleigh market is so hot right now, maybe the stupidity coming from the state government will drive some people away making housing cheaper to acquire. 

Maybe? 

Got to think about the positives. 

@Keith N., I've done something similar to you, I bought a duplex and spend a bunch of money on renovating it.  I used TurboTax this year and last year, I had do go with the Premier edition, it was something like $54.99.  It was pretty simple, and all of the depreciation calcs were built in.  Google is your friend too, if there's some sort of terminology that you don't understand.  

I think the only way I'd go to an accountant is if I owned multiple LLCs.  For anything less, I think TurboTax works fine, just go slow and don't rush your way through it.  

The point is that I left with a lower opinion of the property than I did when I went into the process.  Is that the goal when you're trying to market something?  How about when you're selling something?

 Its been a couple years since I was a renter, but the whole "sneaky open house" thing is REALLY annoying.  The first time it happened, I walked in and there was another couple talking to the owner/manager and I said, "oops, sorry, don't mean to intrude" and drove off.  I assumed (maybe correctly) that the place wasn't actually available.  The second time, I showed up early, and two other couples came.  We were all confused because they had told us all the same time to be there, it made it look like the owner/manager had no idea what they were doing.  I decided to pass on that place as well.

I like the idea of getting applications first, it shows a financial commitment, even if its a small one.  I think that in order to do that, you'd need great pics, a low app fee, and a low rent price relative to the market.  I think that's the approach I'm going to take when my tenants move out in August.  

@Gabe C., would you mind posting the numbers for your recent Raleigh town home purchases? Are you cash flowing or just speculating on appreciation?