All Forum Posts by: Tracy Cummins

Hi @David Wax I'm a native Charlottean and have lived here ALL of my 38 years.  The market in Charlotte is known for its appreciation of values to be sure, and has seen quite an influx in transplants from other regions of the US over the last 15-20 years with many folks from NY, CA, AZ, and OH making home here.  In fact, my own family moved here from Long Island and the Bronx back in the late 70's which is how I came to be from here.

 The Charlotte market is incredibly competitive, with first time home buyers and investors often vying for the same properties based on budget.  We currently have about 6 weeks of supply with multiple offer situations being the norm on homes under the $400k mark.  Over the past 6 months the average rent in the city limits is $1680 for a house and $1542 for a condo/townhome.  Depending on your budget and specific goals, it could be an excellent choice for a buy and hold strategy such as you've laid out.  

Hi @Eli Jackson, I agree with @Marian Huish above. Also I would suggest reading reviews on local RE schools in your area, and perhaps going that route, as many RE schools are now offering online classes due to COVID-19.  Best of luck!  

Excellent neutral choices, will definitely be widely appealing.  Looks deceptively larger than 800 sqft!

Charlotte, NC market is experiencing same thing.  Investors and First-Time buyers are vying for the same properties.  With crazy low interest rates + ridiculously low inventory in the area (1.3 months of supply), sellers are basically getting full to above ask price across the board.  Lots of multiple offer situations.

Hey @Phillip Spears , sounds like you've got some great momentum going and making some beneficial moves during the pandemic to improve your life. Are you looking in particular areas? Looking to BRRRR? Focusing on rentals or interested in flips? PS- definitely curious which musicians are on that list! ;)

@Darren Phane In my opinion I would say dive-in for 6 months to a year working independently within a firm that is supporting you! One that's giving you the tools to be successful and the time to ask questions and the opportunity to shadow all the parts that go into a transaction if you want.  Then after you have some of that experience and get a sense of your needs (both income wise and schedule wise), decide if a team would be a good next step for you-- and if so research which team may be right for you. Teams are structured in many different ways, so if you opt for one, make sure it's a good fit through interviews and networking with folks from some that pique your interest.  

Hi Kunal, congratulations on getting started with investing!  Not knowing what tier of credit you and your wife would be considered I don't know specifically how much the hard pull would hurt you- seems the lower the score, the harder the hit?  In general it's my understanding that once you start any hard pulls on your credit (in your case for both the refi on your home and the rental property) you have about 30 days to shop around with multiple lenders since the credit bureaus recognize this as you "shopping" for a loan, so they only ding your score once.  It's also my general understanding that it takes about 1-2 months for your scores to recoup the lost points from the hard pull. So if this is accurate, then perhaps there would be no issue with your timeline as it stands.  I would suggest however connecting with a lender specifically, either here on BP or in your area to confirm just how much a hard pull with ding your scores and whether it would be to your advantage to move forward with both endeavors at once.  I would imagine you'll get good info from that conversation particularly if you are looking to use your extra income savings from the refi to free you up to invest in the rental.  

Congratulations Darren! Not sure if you want to be independent or join a team, but may be worth checking out the Keller Williams in the area.  KW is amazing for getting you up and running once you get the license. For teams may be worth it to check out Team Sold NYC in the Queens area with KW.  And also the Edry Team.  I've heard good things from my friends in those areas up there.

Hi Joe, if you don't want to go the MLS route and pay an agent to list it, you can certainly go word of mouth with any real estate agent partners in your area for "off-market" listings. Also, the NextDoor app seems to do quite well for getting the word out and frankly can cut down on some of the scams + tire-kickers you'll find on Craigslist.

Hi Robert, if you have the 20% ready to go, it may be worth reaching out to Keith Andrew with NBKC to see what the options are for lending on a non-primary short term rental option. It's not a local lender to your area, but they do deals all over.