Multi-family in North Carolina or Arizona

[Xavier Garcia]

Hello everyone!  I'll be transitioning out of Hawaii to either Yuma, AZ or to the Jacksonville, NC area by summer '21.  I'm currently looking into house-hacking a small multi-family property - best part is that my wife is slowly beginning to realize the huge benefits that house hacking offers.  My question is simple (maybe), which market offers more benefits than the other when it comes to multi-family properties?  In other words, which market offers the most bang for the buck?

I would be using a VA Loan so I don't foresee financing being an issue.

Full disclosure, I'm a long time BP podcast listener but this is only my first post on here.  If there is any additional information I need to include, please let me know.

Any help, support, or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Xavi

[Joe Roberts]

@Xavier Garcia

As another investor in Eastern NC I can tell you that small multi-family are very hard to find, everywhere from Swansboro down to the SC stateline. I am constantly on the lookout and they are just few and far in between. The few neighborhoods in Jacksonville with duplexes are....less than ideal. Wilmington has some, but they tend to very old (think 1930s or earlier) and pretty expensive because they are near the river. 

The one place that has a good inventory of duplexes/triplexes is New Bern. However, your commute to base will be pretty long, the town doesn't have much to offer (neither does Jax really, but you are closer to the beach and to Wilmington), and most importantly, its an area of flat or even declining population growth and a very low appreciation market. 

My recommendation would be to find a an SFR somewhere between Sneads Ferry and Northern Wilmington and maybe do some live-in upgrades. The appreciation is fantastic in that area and is only going to improve and the rental rates you can get when you move on from the home will dwarf anything in Jacksonville. Hit up @Sean McDonnell for a local investor and realtor (former Marine), who specializes in finding investment properties, particularly for military investors.