All Forum Posts by: Brandon Spurlock

Hey @Daniel Molina, I'll give a +1 for @Brandon Tusing. He works with a Top 3 real estate firm in Richmond, is on a Top 3 team, and is a local investor himself. Don't be afraid to vet your agents to be sure they're the real deal.

Hey @Paul Willis, good questions that you're posing here. Richmond continues to be a fantastic market, and a good duplex is one of the few ways to still attain cash flow, considering current prices and interest rates. 

Richmond has many neighborhoods that have been enjoying revitalization, but not without pain points. I tell many clients that any given neighborhood is "street by street, or block by block." While it may take some bravery to invest in a neighborhood that isn't yet fully revitalized, you could be on the winning end in a few years once home values rise. If you wait until that area is completely revitalized, you're going to pay for it. A lot of it depends on your risk tolerance, and how the immediate area is. 

Hop on Google street view and "walk" around the block to get a feel for it. Check websites like Spot Crime to see what's happening in that immediate area.

I'm an investor-friendly agent in Richmond, as well as an investor myself. Happy to chat further if you'd like. Feel free to shoot me a DM.

Hi @Ashley Hadford, 

Is it safe to say - "it depends?' I'm here in Richmond, a full time realtor and investor. 

If you're moving away and don't want the strings attached to repairs, tenants, management, HOA, etc, then it may be best to sell it and recover as much equity as possible!.

As for renting, going cash flow negative isn't great, and your home isn't likely to appreciate as fast as it would if it was a single family home, so holding with hopes of increasing appreciation may be a verrrry slow play, but if you can afford to hold, having a tenant pay down your mortgage is an additional great benefit to real estate investing. 

Also, can you keep it furnished? If so, and if your HOA allows, you could market this as a mid-term furnished rental and charge a premium for rent. Then it would likely cover your mortgage AND HOA dues.

I'd be happy to help you look at area comps and see what a hopeful market value might be if you were to sell. That may help you make a more informed decision about whether to sell or rent. Feel free to DM me and I'd be happy to hop on a call!

Hi Kristen, I buy land in the Richmond area, as do several of my clients. What do you have in mind?

Hey @Joshua Smith, Richmond-area investor and realtor here. Love your plan to house hack - it's the best and most affordable way to enter into the real estate investing game!

A quick answer to your question: you're mostly (not entirely) going to be limited to Richmond city limits if you want to buy a true multifamily property (duplex, triplex, etc). Northside, The Fan, Jackson Ward, Church Hill. There just aren't many true MF properties in the surrounding counties. I helped a client buy a duplex in Jackson Ward on Clay St. They rented out the big unit out front, while living in the 1 bedroom unit on the back of the building. They have since moved out and are now renting out both units, and on to their next property.

An alternative idea would be to house hack by renting out individual bedrooms (any single family house would do), a walkout basement (slightly more rare), or a garage apartment (even more rare). This could open your search up to almost anywhere you want to be in the 804 where you can find a single family home that would work.

Happy to chat more, feel free to shoot me a DM if interested. 

Hey @Conner Hitchcock, hate to hear this for you man. Fellow investor and Richmond Realtor here.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you were underrepresented by your agent and missed out on having a qualified set of inspector eyes to scope this home out in 2020. Buying a poorly flipped house, in my opinion, can hurt a lot more than buying an old, completely outdated house.

A few questions. Where is this house located? Is it in an area that is appreciating? You said if you sold, you'd lose most of the equity (down payment) in the sale, and then would move back into the townhouse to begin saving again. If you're in an appreciating area, I'd really try and keep the house, so you don't start back at zero to begin saving again. I'd love to see you salvage the equity you have and see it grow.

In order to see if that is worth the effort, I'd highly recommend having an inspector come and check the house out to see what else is going on. I'd also get some 2nd opinions on the crawl space. Hopefully you didn't have JES come out - they'll upsell and over charge every time. I have a fantastic Renovation Coach who isn't an inspector, but knows homes better than anyone I've seen. For $150, he'll walk the property and "inspect" it and help you know if you have any other major red flags to deal with. Let me know if you'd like his contact.

If the inspections are satisfactory, I might use some equity (or cash flow) from the townhouse to begin paying down the roof debt, and find a way to improve the mess that the flippers left, and keep the house. (This coming from a realtor who benefits from selling houses). Then, when rates come back down in 1-2 years, you could refinance and improve your rate and payment a bit, maybe even get enough money out of the refi to pay off your roof debt.

If this house is not in an appreciating area, or if the inspections reveal more necessary repairs than you can stomach, then maybe it's time to sell. The problem being, the next buyer's inspection will likely reveal these same issues, and you could be caught needing to make the repairs or issuing credits to a future buyer. At the end of the day, they still may bite you. The best you could hope for in that case would be selling in a hot Spring market where some/all of the inspection is waived by the buyer.

I'd be happy to process more with you, send some good contacts your way, or bow out. Let me know if I can help!

Call Mark Smith at Real Property Management. They’ll allow you to choose the services you do, or don’t, want. My clients have been pleased with them. Feel free to shoot me a DM with any questions. 

Hi Thuy, I love that you're traveling the country by van! 

I'm a full-time realtor in Richmond, and an investor on the side. I've helped multiple in-town, and out of town, investors find great deals here in the greater Richmond area. Happy to connect with you and answer any specific questions you have - just shoot me a DM!

In short, Richmond is fantastic and has grown faster than anywhere else in the state, and home values continue to be on the rise. That being said, with rising home values and interest rates, it's tough to cash flow on traditional single family homes. Most of my investors who are finding good cash flow are either buying duplexes, or renting homes out as mid-term rentals. 

I have a client who just closed on a duplex for $330k that will rent for about $3,000/month, and another who is purchasing a SFH by assuming the seller's loan with a 3.75% interest rate. Cash flow isn't impossible, just takes patience and creativity.

Hey Raf,

I check all your boxes - agent, investor, and have completed BRRRRs in Richmond!

Richmond has been a fantastic market and has grown a ton, and continues to grow faster than more other parts of the state. That being said, BRRRRs are very difficult to pull off right now due to rates. If you don't mind leaving some capital in the deal when you refinance, we can make that work. Also, if you pivot towards a mid-term rental (instead of a standard 12 month lease) you may be able to improve cash flow in a way that makes a BRRRR more lucrative/cash flowing.

Happy to connect for a phone call if your'e interested.

Hi @Niecy Smith!

I am a fellow investor and full-time realtor here in Richmond and happy to connect with you. I serve traditional buyers and sellers but also have several investor clients, including many from BP! 

I personally own both long-term and mid-term rentals in the Richmond area, with experience in flips, BRRRR, house hack, land development, and more. Our team maintains a running Google doc of lenders, vendors, and contractors that have proven to be a great asset for our clients when they are in need, as investors often are!

Let me know if you'd like to connect for a call!