General Real Estate Investing
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated over 5 years ago, 05/22/2019
1st time NY investor visiting Raleigh NC-seeking advice for visit
Hi BP!
I am interested in the Raleigh real estate market and I will be visiting the area for a week from May 21st to May 28th. I am looking for advice from others who have gone on similar trips to get to know the area in which they are investing. When visiting a new market what are some of the things you do while there? What are some of the things I should do to get to know the market and be better prepared to invest from out of state? Who do you recommend I meet with?
Additional background - This is my first visit to North Carolina so I am not familiar with the area. I will be staying with a close friend who has lived in the area for 10+ years so she will be my primary contact and source of info. I tried searching BP meetups but doesn't look like there are any scheduled while I'm there.
Thank you, appreciate all advice!
@Maricruz Romero Hello, I'd be happy to chat with you about the area beforehand, unfortunately I will be away during the time you are here. I run a PM co. and have some investment properties here in the area.
@Maricruz Romero, what are your primary goals as an investor? Buy and hold? Do you have a preference on single or multifamilty? Flipping? Development?
You may need to look at vastly different areas for appreciation versus cash flow, and depending on how much "value" you are after. Although the pricing may seem favorable relative to your home area, keep in mind that the rents down here are respectively lower. Personally, I do not think that the rents in the Triangle (Raleigh/Durham) have caught up to the price inflation over the past few years.
As an aside, unless your friend is a real estate investor, I recommend carefully weighing the free advice that friend is willing to offer with respect to your investing in the region.
@Will Kaufmann thank you for your reply. I am interested in buy and hold and I would be looking into duplexes. Are there any specific areas you would recommend?
I am relying more on my friend to get more general info on the neighborhoods rather than investment advice - thanks for the heads up.
Hey @Maricruz Romero- I am a residential Realtor and Investor here in the Raleigh market for 9 years. Would love to talk more about your investment goals and see if I serve as a resource for you! Feel free to DM here on BiggerPockets and I can provide you my contact information.
Originally posted by @Maricruz Romero:
@Will Kaufmann thank you for your reply. I am interested in buy and hold and I would be looking into duplexes. Are there any specific areas you would recommend?
I am relying more on my friend to get more general info on the neighborhoods rather than investment advice - thanks for the heads up.
Check out some of @Chris Martin 's posts on the inventory of duplex/tri/quads in the Raleigh area (very detailed statistics). It is quite limited, so if that is what your business plan calls for then Raleigh might not be your best option.
@Andrew S. Thank you for pointing me to that source, I was able to read through his post. That is definitely helpful information to know for someone who is out of state. I am open to the general research triangle area, do you know if the inventory for multi-family homes is the same for areas outside of Raleigh?
Hi @Maricruz Romero - Multi-families are a hot commodity in our market and the inventory is extremely low. For example, our MLS covers 16 counties in the region. As of 4pm on 5/22, only 45 multi-family properties are listed in the MLS as active and available for purchase.
Those 45 properties are broken down as 33 Duplexes, 1 Triplex, 4 Quads and 7 properties that are 5+ units (up to 29).
@Maricruz Romero I have posted about quads and duplexes quite a few times over the past decade or so as @Andrew S. points out. The fundamental issue in Wake county (largest city being Raleigh) is the TAM (Total Available Market) for this type of property is small, as in about 0.2% of the residential dwellings. I have specific numbers in my post at this topic (Is Raleigh a good cashflow market?) and those numbers are based on county property card data. That post was a year or so ago, and the data image I used was about a year old, so the exact numbers will be off a tad, but the idea is the same.
If you are set on duplexes in Wake county, good luck. You will need it. The strategy I would use IF I had to find a duplex would be to do a mail campaign to every owner of record. 7 touches, all that stuff. If you pay a premium you may get someone to bite.
I understand the appeal for duplexes in general, but in central NC where decent housing stock sells for a premium and overall numbers aren't that great, I've come to the conclusion that the appeal doesn't transfer well. It's kind of like basements up north vs. here. Yes, there are a few. But not like upstate NY, for example.
The military towns (Jacksonville NC, Fayetteville NC come to mind) have a lot more quads and duplexes as a percentage of market. But these markets... I don't follow closely. Not sure where to go, what to look for.
Honestly, I'd look for something other than a duplex. But that's your call...