Questions about the Raleigh Durham Market 2021

[Bridgette Cannon]

Hi all, I'm new and am looking for BRRR and/or flip opportunities in the Triangle, where I currently live. I have some questions about going further out to surrounding areas:

Long Preface: if you live near the Triangle (Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC) at all, you know how insane the market is right now, retail homes in less desirable areas are closing at a minimum of 25k-40k over list. Even the fixer-uppers are going for 50k-100k (or more) over in the A+ neighborhoods. It's a feeding frenzy, and it seems like people are panicking. I have two different very experienced Real Estate Agents and even they are exasperated by the market.

With all that said, I'm actually trying to do two things right now: purchase a home for myself where I can build a rentable ADU in the back and trying to spend $265k within the next 30 days on a 1031 exchange. I've spent the last 2 weeks trying to spend the 1031 exchange money wisely (SFH with room for ADU), but losing out with my offers, even when I've offered as much as 45k over with 15k due diligence and 15k earnest money.

My requirement for an ADU on the property is because I don't want to wait 15 years to profit from my BRRR investments. I intend for the main house rental to pay the property bills and expenses, and the profit to come from the ADU rental. Also worth noting: home values in most neighborhoods here appreciated between 7-11% last year and are expected to continue at that rate for years to come.

I am determined to get at least 1 property in Durham! It's just that everything goes contingent within hours sometimes. After that first Durham property, I'm open to other areas.

Okay here is my Big Question:

Since I'm doing both BRRRs and Flipping, what other areas would you recommend? I've heard possibly Fayetteville, NC for BRRR and then maybe Sanford, NC for flips...? Any insight would be amazing! And if you made it this far, thanks for reading!