Starting out in Raleigh, NC

[Jason Curfman]

Hello all,

My wife and I are planning on getting into real estate investing, and since we live in Raleigh, NC that is where we are planning to start.  I have been working on a business plan before we begin, but I wanted to run some main points buy you all as well as ask some questions:

1. Since we are beginners, I am thinking that a Single Family Home would be a good option for us.  I would like to eventually add multiple single family properties and a few multi-family properties as well. 
2. We have around $30,000 to initially invest.  What price range should we be looking for, assuming we would need at least a 20% down payment and to keep some cash as a reserve for potential repairs and capital expenditures.
3. Are there any investor friendly lenders in the RDU area?  Would you suggest that I get pre-approved before I even start making offers to people? 
4. I've looked at a few different podcasts and sites, and it seems like I would expect to get about 0.8-1% of total purchase price in monthly rent, does that number seem accurate?
5. Is there a reputable property management company that does not charge excessive fees in the RDU area?
6. I know some real estate agents in the area, but none are too familiar with investment properties.  Are there any real estate agents in the RDU area that some of you have had success working with?

Thank you all in advance!

[Jiri B.]

@Jason Curfman sounds like you know more than i did when i started. 

Regarding your downpayment, 30k if you are doing investment in Raleigh in 2018 won't probably get you far. If you take out closing cost (about 4-5k) you will be left with 25k. I've seen many lenders starting to ask 25% down rather then 20% in the past several months. But this would also depend on your personal income etc.

That would allow you purchase 100-150k property. Might be very tough to find SFH for that price in Raleigh so you might need to look for surrounding areas.

I only work with investment properties and 1031 exchanges and have my own portfolio of homes as well.

If you have any properties in mind, i can help you do the numbers. I can also go with you to look at it and provide some feedback as well.  Many times you purchase an investment property, you will need some cash to get it move in ready. It could be as simple as new paint and new carpet and sometimes i personally think its ok to put those on the credit card if you have to.

As for the pre-approval, as that was already answered here, you will need that when putting an offer in and most realtors will ask you that even before going out with you to show properties.

Good luck!