All Forum Posts by: Sarah Young

Hi Walter! 

I'm an investor/flipper in Charleston and I use a local (although expanding) hard money lender who is super easy to work with. I highly recommend them if you want to go that route, although their rates are a bit higher (currently 13.75%). www.rehabwallet.com if you're interested. 

Hey, y'all, 

I recently completed renovating a 1976 Airstream and am about to rent it as an STR. It's in my backyard, and I also have an apartment on my property that I rent as an STR. I have STR insurance on the apartment, included in my homeowners insurance, but my insurance agent cannot get anyone to insure the airstream for liability. I'm ok self-insuring for loss, but I am very uneasy about self-insuring for liability. She said even my umbrella policy won't cover it. She has tried every avenue she can think of, and can't find a solution. I'm wondering if anyone here knows of any insurance companies that will insure an Airstream for STR liability in Charleston, SC? So many companies have closed down or left the south lately that the pickings are slim! Would love ideas from others. Thanks!

Quote from @Reyansh Budhagoda:

Quote from @Sarah Young:

We live in Charleston and flip houses, while also having an Airbnb.  We love it here, and are finding great success in our flipping business. On top of this, there’s a fantastic community of fellow investors who are all about being “Go Givers”. We’ve found great partners and resources through this network. Our business wouldn’t be as successful as it is without this amazing network of fellow investors. 

Sarah. Any reason you are doing flip vs BRRRR. All BRRRRs opportunity numbers I run don't make sense from the BRRRR point due to refinance APRs are high. Would like to hear your thoughts.

I haven’t done a BRRRR since the rates went up. I did a BRRSTR (turned it into a STR) last summer but the rates went up so much it doesn’t cash flow as well as I’d hoped. I’ve stepped back from doing those for now due to rates. 

Quote from @Ryan Deasy:

@Sarah Young

wow! great looking place and amazing STR cash flow. good for you! happy to see this worked out.

Thanks, Ryan! 

Quote from @Sean McMullen:

Looks great. What neighborhood is this in Charleston? 

Thanks Sean! It’s in North Charleston. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $30,000
Cash invested: $50,000

I flipped this property and kept it as an STR. Invested $80k, and now it cash flows $3k/month as an STR.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I love having STRs and BBSTRRs are my favorite strategy for the lowest investment (I usually get cash back at the refi closing table), and the biggest return.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I bought it from a Wholesaler.

How did you finance this deal?

Hard money loan through www.rehabwallet.com.

How did you add value to the deal?

Complete renovation & stylish decor.

What was the outcome?

It appraised for $225k once we were done so we recouped all our investment, plus some!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This one was pretty smooth. The biggest challenge was getting the city to come out and turn on the power. Because the house had been vacant for years, the city had removed the electrical box and wires to the house. It was a bit of a challenge jumping through their hoops to get power on, but we eventually did.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes! www.rehabwallet.com is the best hard money lender! We love working with them!

I'd call John Kastelein at Honey Dew, LLC. (240) 409-8778

Jabari, do you know Rob Wade with Tangent Mortgage? He's a local mortgage broker I use for all my rental property refi's. He has a great product for STRs, as well as rare & term loans where you can get as much as 75% LTV. Text me if you'd like his contact info. And good luck! This is an exciting plan!

I think you’ll quickly find that STRs do work, and are more lucrative than LTRs. 

I self manage all my STRs. I use a software that is very affordable, and helps me automate all mr messages, my reviews, and schedules my cleaners for me. I think you'd find that it's pretty easy to self manage, you'll retain your profits, and there's something nice about having your hands on your own STR, when hospitality is key in this business.

Not sure if I’m allowed to post a referral link, but if you use this link, you and I both get a credit on Hospitable. I only got the referral link because I told so many people about it, and would happily tell you about it without a referral, so please know that is not my motive. It’s an excellent service, and only $9/month for one listing. Worth every penny! It has reduced the time I spend hosting my properties by 90%! 
https://hospitable.com/?grsf=s...

Love this! Thanks for sharing! We do live in an amazing city!!