All Forum Posts by: Adam Cade

What's up fellas?!?!?! Does it seem like the market is cooling off in Bburg?? I keep getting notifications from Zillow and Realtor about price drops. Good thing for investors! Anyone invested in condos on main street? I feel like that would be a good long-term investment. The school isn't going away, and being close to downtown attracts a wide swath of potential tenants.

@Malcolm Pointon I'd love to hear your thoughts on Bakerson. Mike Boring of Bakerson reached out to me with a lending opportunity for a bridge loan. No property to back the loan. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts and experiences with Bakerson. Feel free to send me a private message. Thanks you!

@LaVonne Eaton what was your experience with Bakerson? Where you invested as a LP on a deal, or do some lending with them? I'm eager to here your thoughts!

@Jeff Knorr did this ever get resolved? Mike Boring of Bakerson reached out to me with a bridge loan opportunity recently. $50k at 18% per annum, for 2 months (essentially $1,500 in interest for 2 months of lending). Reading your post makes me hesitant to move forward. I am chatting with him on Monday, but attempting to do some due diligence prior to speaking with him.

@Craig McNally yes, we got in a few weeks ago. Brutal market. We are renting for the time being.

@David Woodson most definitely! We'll be in town in May. It's coming quick! We're still actively looking for a home. We are holding on to the idea of using the AirBnB strategy to offset our mortgage. Since my assignment is only 2 years (hoping to extend to 3), we really need to get into something that is ready to go on day 1. The idea of simply offsetting our mortgage is what drives us. I have a housing allowance, but in standard fashion, the military lags substantially behind everyone else in making adjustments. It'll be years before we see a reasonable housing allowance increase unfortunately, but nothing I can personally do about it now, except find a way to offset the mortgage. As others have mentioned in this thread, the only way to do that in Blacksburg is through a primary residence. That doesn't bother us, but the prices make it challenging. We're excited for the journey! Look forward to meeting up with others in the local area!

That's great to hear! We look forward to being an AirBnB host. It seems like a fairly lucrative strategy if you get certain factors correct (location, amenities, layout, separate entrance, parking, etc, etc, etc). Again, with us only being physically in Blacksburg for 2 years, we'll have to come in swinging. This will be our first attempt at an AirBnB (if we end up going with that strategy), and allow us to figure out if it's a REI strategy we want to pursue in the future. We've listened to lots of podcasts and follow various STR groups, along with doing our own research and learning from others. I feel that we are armed with the right knowledge, and now it's time to execute. Thanks again for the response and advice!

@Craig McNally and @Jeremy Hart thanks for the follow-up. Having been a student at VT for 5 years, and dating my wife who lived in off campus housing for several years, I have no intention of getting into the student housing game. As you mentioned, and through anecdotal evidence, college students are on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to respecting a living space. That being said, not all are bad, but regardless we'd target grad students or local professionals if we did a long-term lease.

@Craig McNally thanks for responding! It sounds like there is a good group of investors in the Blacksburg area that would make for a nice REI meetup! We will be arriving in May, but hope to have something locked down prior to that. We plan on doing the AirBnB strategy and capitalize on the high rental times (football games, graduation, etc). Sounds like that is a good strategy for the area, considering the town of Blacksburg has restrictions on rentals. We look forward to continuing to learn from other investors in the area and hope to join the ranks of the successful investors in the area!

Regarding your statement of rentals not making financial sense in Blacksburg, what are you referring to? Long term? STR? Student rentals? We will only in Blacksburg for 2 years, so we are thinking the STR route will make the most sense. Plus, if it doesn't work out and the market keeps going up, we could sell at the end of our tour. Or, hold if it makes sense, and continue to rent out the property as a long term rental. We are obviously still in the beginning stages of this plan, but are all ears to both positive and negative experiences in the area.

@Jeremy Hart ya it looks rough out there... We're hoping for the best and not getting to the point of having to settle.