Thoughts on North Charleston?

[Preston Davie]

We all know the inventory in Charleston is scarce. However there does seem to be more opportunity in North Charleston. Curious to know everyone’s thoughts on buying/renting/flipping? Are property values increasing or decreasing? How hard would it be to find quality tenants?

[Nat C.]

@Preston Davie

I think it’s good for any buy and hold investor who is in it for the long haul.

The very southern end of North Charleston in the neck is very rough right now. However looking at the prices and demand once you cross over the border into Charleston County, I can see North Charleston gentrifying in around a decade. There’s already these cute little new construction properties popping up in that area.

Further North there’s the very popular Park Circle and immediately outside of the expensive Park Circle precinct, the prices plummet. I believe that anywhere from the Neck up to Park Circle would be a smart buy for long term investors.

North Charleston currently has one of the highest cap rates anywhere in the US, as well as one of the highest eviction rates. This tells us that it’s a low-socioeconomic demographic and ownership here would require strong property management skills. So I would warn new investors to proceed with caution but it seems like a wise choice for those with plenty of experience.

As for flipping, the best model would be selling on a lease to own option or seller financing. This would assist the low income earners with bad credit who wouldn’t qualify for a conventional loan. If they default on repayments, you would have the ability to foreclose, so it’s a sensible strategy in the current times of eviction suspensions.