Figuring out my investment strategy...

[Scott Vaeth]

Hi All! 

I've been learning a lot through bigger pockets over the few years and finally decided I needed to get on board and diversify more investments. Initially, my goal was to BRRRR a property in the Greenville County, SC market as it's rapidly growing, but most properties are being renovated and investors are putting full cash offers in on the ones that aren't. While I would love to house hack, there are very few multi-family's in the market. When they do appear, it's usually in a less desirable area where it seems like the comps aren't strong.

That being said, a coworker of mine bought a 3bdrm/3bth house in a new development that's in a favorable location at a price that's lower than anything I've seen. Both older and newer houses with the same proximity to the downtown area aren't selling this low. The area itself hasn't been gentrified yet so the comps are low in the area but the investor and the builder are the same person. Since he's not using a listing agent, and hasn't promoted it on the MLS yet, should I consider this as my first home purchase?

For context: My coworker's house has already appreciated since purchasing it last year, but I understand there's risks involved with putting all my eggs in one asset that I won't be able to add more value to. For my first property, I plan to use a conventional loan and put 3-5% down. This home purchase would be on the high end of my budget still.

Any advice would be great! 

Thanks!

[Sheryl Sitman]

Long time full time investor here. We recently entered the Greenville area - you are lucky to be living there :-) It is a challenging time to start out as an investor since most of what is being taught and promoted is based on the conditions people got used to for many years -- low prices, decent pricing for labor and materials and low interest rates. Notice that it is very hard to find BRRRR that works now. Not sure what I think of the househack trend and how much of it is hype - as opposed to a genuine good start to investing that has proven itself with actual results. So while there is still much to learn from the books, the forums, the podcasts, the gurus . . . you need to learn how to discern what is relevant to your particular situation and abilities and what makes sense in the environment we currently live in. If I had known about forums like BP years ago and listened to some of the "thought leaders" back then, truthfully, I may not have made some of the best investments that I have in my portfolio today - properties with good long term tenants in areas that have actually almost tripled in value in 10 years, for example. When we consult with investors who are trying to figure out how to get started and what strategy to take, we dive into what makes sense for THEM and not the trends that are talked about on social media. But as far as the Greenville area goes, it's an exciting market to get into for sure.