Investments in surrounding Triangle Towns - Mebane

[Ravi B.]

Hey Guys,

Long time lurker on BP, and active investor in the Triangle area for last 3 years. As prices continue to skyrocket in Durham, Morrisville, Cary, and others, we have expanded our radius to find profitable opportunities elsewhere. There was a relatively new builder in High Point, NC (Keystone) that sold many townhome units to investors there and the Winston-Salem, NC area (both areas experienced significant HPA). They advised Mebane, NC is another area for opportunity. Any one had experience in this market near Tanger Outlets? Any idea of what achievable rents could be for 2 bed/2bath townhomes/SFR?

[Jiri B.]

If you cannot afford to invest in prime locations, there is nothing wrong with looking in more affordable places. It's very common as prices go up in major cities, that people start looking into surrounding towns and start bringing those prices up as well. You might not get the same appreciation or return on your investment but that does not mean that you should not invest in those places. I believe every investor have to start somewhere.

There is opportunity in every market, you just have to find it and make it work.

But do not look at the rent as the only key to invest. In my opinion, cheap properties are just not as lucrative. You still need to upkeep the property and the money you have to put in, you might never recover on the property price appreciation. 

I always want to make sure, that if i need to sell property, that i wont loose money on it. So just because you get extra $100 on cashflow, it might not be the best deal if you decide to sell 5 years later.

BRRRR strategy is great if you don't have unlimited source of income and want to grow your portfolio on its own. In that case, appreciation is more valuable than cashflow.