North Carolina Rentals

[Andrew Jolly]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to be asking this, but my girlfriend and I are moving from Central Illinois to the Waynesville  / West Asheville NC area for work. Property search has been a nightmare as it seems to be a very hot market, both for buying and renting. We want to rent in the short term to get a feel for the area, from there we would like to start buying long term buy and hold properties in and around the surrounding area. 

So I have two questions:

Is the market too hot to be getting into right now? do you have any suggestions for finding good deals in this area?

Do you know where we can find a rental?! - it has been quite the process, and from what we have seen, it feels as if there is only a handful of rentals to rent. (This sounds good for the long term buy and holder, as it would mean vacancy would be low), but it is tough to get moved into the area. If you guys have any rentals in that area, or know anyone who does, please let me know!

My girlfriend plans to move down there in may, and I will be following her in December when things slow down at work.

[Michael Tierney]

The market is indeed hot, but is leveling off a bit. I think purchase prices got too far ahead of rents. The Asheville secret is out and there are lots of people searching for deals. I would suggest moving here first, then trying to identify neighborhoods on the upswing. The hottest/most popular markets (West and North Asheville) will have the lowest vacancies and highest rents. You might want to look in South AVL, Arden, Fletcher, Candler or Weaverville for a rental and then learn the local dynamics.

Good Luck!