New Kid on the Block

[Steven Singleton]

Hi everyone, 

My name is Steven. I've only been a light consumer of Bigger Pockets information in the past but decided to really dive in and join the community. I live in the Bay Area of Northern California. However, I'm from Atlanta and am laser focused on buy & hold over the long term in Raleigh, NC.

I look forward to meeting and working with others on this platform!

[Jered Sturm]

Welcome to the Site @Steven Singleton . I'm curious why Raleigh opposed to Atl ?

[Shawn Ackerman]

@Steven Singleton Welcome to BP! Congrats on finding a market that works for your REI appetite. I'm interested to know why NC?

[Steven Singleton]

Thanks for the welcome!

There are more than a few reasons I decided with the Raleigh area specifically vs ATL or anywhere else in NC. I'm born and raised in ATL so, there are several points of scrutiny to the fever that came to mind. 

In summary, I believe Raleigh already has the seeds of sustained long term growth because of the availability of quality education at the K - 12 and Secondary levels. ATL can't provide this on the same scale today and is highly dependent on a migrant industry workforce. Raleigh has also stabilized on key metrics where ATL has not on a long-term basis (vacancy rates, rent variance). Finally, ATL has a much lower barrier to entry to buying a home and less surrounding areas that fuel growth - Raleigh has more suburbs and metro areas that project long-term growth than ATL does.

This is just my assessment & best guess w/ the info I have. Who knows what the markets will actually bring :)

---- More Context Below ---

1. Market within the city limits generally seems feverish due to speculation on future development. The Beltline seems great but it hasn't materialized yet :) Many of the communities that are supposed to be "revitalized" by Beltline development are places that have just been of a much different profile for a long time. The change people are hoping for will not happen over night.
2. There's generally a high variance in the type of community one might encounter in ATL vs in Raleigh. What do I mean by that? Let's look at:

• Schools - ATL still doesn't have a great handle on public education. Many of the schools just don't perform that well right now except for North Side of ATL (Grady HS for example). It's getting better but it's not stabilized yet. In Raleigh, even the lower income communities consistently have schools rated average to very good available to them in the city. That is great long term in my eyes.
• Rent Variance - Income inequality is super real in ATL. You can see it in the rent variance across the city which is something staggering between 10 - 12%. In Raleigh, that variance is closer to the 4% range. It's much easier to maintain long term renters because it's not as easy to trade down.
• Barrier of entry to a home - Stats just show me that the average salary needed to buy a home in ATL is much less than the salary needed to buy a home in Raleigh. It's harder for people to save up a down payment 
• Vacancy Rates - ATL is a textbook definition of sprawl. Combine this with high rent variance and you get vacancy rates that differ greatly from community to community. Sometimes, they will be very low - in these communities you typically will pay a premium and get lower returns. In many communities it's high - that's just not something I'm personally about.
• Raleigh has Less flipping - lots less. A market where lots of people are trying to make a quick buck just doesn't fit with my investment strategy. This can be see quite a bit in the Beltline area. This is just part 2 of my speculation observation. 
• Finally, personal attachment :) I'm from ATL and love my city. I'm more likely to find a way to make the model work than just listening to the numbers. I decided, as an investor, that's not the type of burden I want on my decision making ability.

Check out PWC's 2016 Emerging Real Estate Trends report - read between the lines on page 41 you'll find some of these claims briefly validated. Also check out my favorite "Best Market" lists for a quick peak into how I started looking at this (Texas is the clear winner here but I find it difficult to do business there right now).

[Leslie Pappas]

Welcome @Steven Singleton!

[Gabe C.]

Welcome, @Steven Singleton ! I live in SF and invest in Raleigh (I'm from there). It has been very good to me so far. Feel free to PM if you want to discuss anything. 

[Alex Corvin]

Welcome @Steven Singleton! I'm a new buy and hold investor myself (I just closed on my first rental on Friday). I live in the Raleigh area and specifically invest in Cary. Have you given any thought yet to which areas you're planning to buy in?

[Robert Musallam]

Hey @Steven Singleton Welcome to BP!

Looks like you've done your homework. I hope you'll keep us posted on your progress & best of luck on your future investments!

[Emily Rose]

Welcome @Steven Singleton , if you need "boots on the ground" in Raleigh, I'd love to chat with you about working together. I regularly preview properties for our investor clients, and I work for one of the best agents in Raleigh, @Dawn Brenengen !

[Danny Camp]

Originally posted by @Steven Singleton:

Hi everyone, 

My name is Steven. I've only been a light consumer of Bigger Pockets information in the past but decided to really dive in and join the community. I live in the Bay Area of Northern California. However, I'm from Atlanta and am laser focused on buy & hold over the long term in Raleigh, NC.

I look forward to meeting and working with others on this platform!

 I live here in Raleigh right now, but I am moving to the Bay Area, and I wanted to do rental investing there! Very interesting. 

[Eric Weireter]

Welcome Steven! I think that is a pretty good analysis of Raleigh vs. Atlanta.

[Dawn Brenengen]

@Steven Singleton I love seeing Raleigh win out when people are considering the best places to invest.  I obviously love it here, but it's nice to be validated by someone investing from 3000 miles away.

[Steven Singleton]

Thanks all!

Appreciate the warm welcome :) 

I currently have one home under contract near Enloe HS. Hoping to get one more locked in before the end of the year. It will be good to keep in touch with others who invest in the area. Please feel free to connect with me!