All Forum Posts by: Brian Williams

Hi friends,

I'm looking to find a solid cleaning company for an AirBnB property we have in Black Mountain, NC (about 10-15 minutes outside of Asheville, NC). We would want them to be able to have ability to automate with our calendar and also service hot tub. Not looking for cheapest, but the BEST, and absolutely willing to pay well for good service. 

Any other advice/insights you have will be greatly appreciated. (We are not using a Prop Mgmt company, but would be leaning heavily on our cleaners for our "eyes on the ground.")

Thanks!

Brian

Hi folks,

I am looking at securing a new construction to permanent loan (for builder, and not developer) for a property we intend to enjoy as a vacation home part of the year and mostly rent out via AirBnB. A few questions I'd be grateful for help with:

     - It will be in the NC area. Do you know of any good banks who offer these kinds of loans that you've been pleased with?

     - Can I count this as a 2nd home or do I have to take it as an Investment Property? This is a little fuzzy. One bank said if we AirBnB it all, they won't touch the loan as it will automatically be designated an "Investment Property." That was NOT my understanding at all. It is more than 50 miles from our home, and we will stay there at minimum, 3 weeks out of the year. 

- Do some banks factor in projected rental income when they calculate my DTI ratio? I would hope so, as that is how we intend to pay for this on a monthly basis.

Any other thoughts / advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Brian

I'm building a home in the mountains of N.C. and wondering what others are seeing banks do in terms of minimum % down on a new construction loan for a 2nd home. Lot is not owned, so I'd be financing that also. Anyone seeing 10% anywhere? Thanks!

@Mitch Davidson - thanks so much for the thorough reply and helpful info. Great to know! Yes - we are looking pretty seriously at Black Mountain and surrounding areas. Trying to stay on top of things daily to catch a good opportunity. Again, very grateful for your reply. 

Thanks for that info, J.D. That's helpful to know. We have family in Black Mountain. It seems what you're saying about having something unique is going to be key. 

I'm looking at investing in a property in the Black Mountain, NC area (near Montreat and Asheville). I'm curious if anyone has any experience in trying short-term rentals in this market, or a similar market, through airbnb / vrbo. If so, how has your experience been w/ a mountain/cabin rental? Does your property rent 60% or more? Any insights you've found most valuable, or things you have learned that you wished you had known starting out? Much appreciated!

Hi folks,

Beginner here. Here's the scenario. I can purchase a single-family home for long-term hold / rental property, and need to put about $60k down. I have the $ - plenty, in fact. Would the wisest course be to come off the cash myself or some other course of action? With paying downpayment myself, after all expenses are accounted for, the property would be roughly $150 - $200 cash positive monthly.

Grateful for all advice / ideas.

- Brian
 

Hi Bill, we are selling our properties in Memphis largely due to a nightmare experience with our property management company, in addition to being at a distance, which makes it very hard to find a good one. I have heard positive things about Management That Cares. I can say this - we live in NC and currently use Block Realty here for our property management and the different is night and day. They are Wonderful! I want to buy up properties here and allow them to manage our portfolio, as this is how the relationship between owner and Property Management company should be. I think working with our current company in Memphis has probably taken years off of my wife's life in terms of health. I've said this before, but I feel I need to stress that we have had zero "character issues" with our current company. Character-wise, they have been honest and tried to help. It has really come down to an issue of not being well-organized and competent to do the job. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to run a successful property management company. Hope this helps. 

@Chris LumLee see my post at the bottom of this thread. I am hearing regularly from others that my experience is not an isolated one but par for the course for CrestCore.

@Koleton Daley - I’m about to have to switch to another group. It has been an absolute nightmare man! And that is putting it kindly. My wife’s stress level has been through the roof. My most gracious analysis would be this (and this is just me): (1) I think the owner is a very kind man - I’ve talked with him personally. He has bent over backwards to try to help with things at times. (2) I am suspicious they maybe tried to grow to fast and did not have the proper infrastructure to do so. Hence, their clients and even tenants have been suffering. I also think many of the call center people they employ are not even in the US. Their portal software is atrocious. It is very hard to tell if we are getting paid all we are due. (3) I have been told they are more setup to handle extremely low-income areas, which doesn’t exactly describe the properties we have.

They have been so unbelievably incompetent on the whole, it has made my wife and I consider just selling our properties and getting out. I have another full-time job, man, and I certainly don’t pay a property management company to add stress to my life because I have to manage them like children in a daycare.

But I think we won’t make that drastic of a decision yet. I have heard that Management That Cares is very good. I’m considering a couple of companies to switch to. I feel your pain, man, and I too wish I had never gone with CrestCore.