All Forum Posts by: Carson Sweezy

What is your budget?

Understanding the breadth of your question, I will point out a few things to know about the Nova market, especially the areas in Fairfax county which you have mentioned. McLean and Vienna are some of the priciest markets in the DMV area (McLean especially). Investors are active in both cities, mainly in single family development. Teardowns and rebuilds of old construction are extremely common in those cities and you will see them far more than flips, simply because of the market demand. Buyers in those areas dont really care for a face-lift for the price point that they pay for. They want a new house. Some neighborhoods have a new construction on every street, and another in progress next door. The Town of Vienna has strict regulations and I caution you to do your research and really understand local codes before diving into that market especially. A colleague did a complete teardown rebuild 18 months ago, and had to redo the driveway because it was a few inches too wide, costing $10,000+ to redo. Because of this, you see the same handful of investors dealing in Vienna. 

 Fairfax is similar in some parts, but not as active for flipping or teardowns because there is a lot of new construction from larger developers in Fairfax currently, especially in Merrifield and Fairfax Circle. 

As for the rest of Nova, flipping is prominent all over, it just depends on where you can make the numbers work. I have recently seen several flips in Alexandria and Manassas, but it really depends on where your numbers can work. 

Many buy-and-hold investors in this area play for appreciation (for good or bad). It is possible to find a cash-flowing rental property, but it is difficult and takes dedication, and time (depends on your price point of course).

To your strategy of multi-families, Northern Va is almost entirely empty of this type of unit. For several reasons, including tax codes, urban sprawl, etc. You would need to go as far south as Richmond, or as far north as Baltimore to really find consistent inventory of this type of multifamily, though parts of DC and Maryland will have some supply.

@Grant Norton I personally have found becoming a licensed agent to be the best way to learn the business. Wholesaling is clearly where the industry and quite a lot on BP push newbies towards, but the truth is it is a very high-level operation within the world of real estate investing. Not trying to push you away from your goals, but just cautioning you to analyze the situation, what is the likelihood of someone that has 0 real estate experience of getting a wholesale deal?

If you are confident in your real estate knowledge, market knowledge, understanding a sellers options, creating a CMA, calculating repair estimates, identifying motivations, negotiating techniques, marketing capabilities, client accountability, ability to manage highly stressed adults who are selling their LARGEST ASSET, by all means, try whatever works. If you are looking to learn about the business, be mentored by those that know the business, and have a chance at making money while you learn, licensure is another option.

@Elena Keith welcome to the site. The best place to find lenders is through networking. BP is good for learning and talking with people online, but lending happens person to person. Checkout some local meetups, there are a few ones locally that are great. Be weary of any that sell products, boot camps, high monthly fees, etc. 

Sharon Cohen Richard S Bastile is a lawyer that was recommended to our firm, specializing in tenants and evictions. BP won't let me post contact info, but I have his phone number if you would like it.

John C. Russel is right, you (or someone on the loan) has to live in the property for the first year to be an owner occupant. Do you have family in the area? One way I see this working is if a family member were on the loan and the deed of trust, and therefore qualified for a primary loan. Upen Patel can help you figure out if there's anyway to do it. Where are you looking?

Certainly smart to plan with the end in mind! Feel free to reach out, my contact info is in the footer.

Eva Karnaukh most are sales traps! I go to Capital REI which meets in Fairfax each month. They don't have any products to sell, it's strictly networking and learning from other investors. Typically a topic is chosen, and a guest speaker that specializes in that topic presents on the subject (1031 exchanges, large multifamilies investing, lead generation, to name a few). Our office is actually hosting the next event on July 28th, and we have an event tonight for newbie investors. We will be analyzing a case study of an investment property within Fairfax county. Tonight's event is free, the more the merrier! 11202 Lee Hwy Suite B2, Fairfax, Va 22030 from 7-9pn

Welcome Andrew Posner best of luck getting started. Maybe we will run into each other at a meet-up event in the future.

Looking forward to the event tomorrow night!

Welcome Anthony Black you've come to the right site for learning and focusing your goals. checkout the local meetups too!