All Forum Posts by: Chow Ahmed

Thank you, appreciate that!

Hi All,

I have a couple general question about SFR / Townhomes near RTP area. So I want to buy something within 15-30 minutes of RTP e.g. Apple campus, for something new/close to new/turn-key as a buy/hold long-term investment property as an out-of-state investor. I hear it's really hard for investors to get in because a lot of communities are not allowing investors to purchase, can anyone verify that?

I am looking at new build townhomes in Cary particularly near the Route 55/Morrisville/Carpenter area that is about 10 minutes from RTP, 20 minutes from Raleigh downtown, and 15 minutes from Duke. For a 3 bed/3 bath, does a rental comp of $2.2k sound too much to expect or it's reasonable? Buying just over $400k, would I be paying way too much or it's about right for the current market? I know with these numbers I would be cash flow negative, but I am seriously considering making a bet on appreciation. I have a stable and well paid W2 so I can afford to eat the costs in the meantime.

Appreciate any insight anyone can offer or tips in general. I've started looking recently in the RTP area. I am also new to this, but eager to pull the trigger for a reasonable deal in the coming months, sooner than later.

Thanks!

@Sophia Griffies Thank you for the tip!

My plan is to buy-and-hold long term, aren't prices just going to continue to rise anyway? If I were to wait until it got a bit closer to a buyers market, there is a good chance I end up paying the same or more if I were to buy later this summer?

Hello BP!

What are some resources you can utilize to determine whether a market is currently a buyers vs sellers market?

So far I try to look up the rate of new builds vs the rate of homes closing by way of Googling. I'm not sure if this is leading me to the right places thus I am wondering if you might have some good resources? I am interested specifically in North Carolina (e.g. Charlotte, Raleigh) and Georgia (e.g. Atlanta and area). Based on what I'm told, both of these markets are a sellers market right now, but I'm struggling to find the right place to make this assessment myself.

Background: I am a newbie on the hunt for my first purchase ever. It will be a buy-and-hold, out-of-state investment property.

Thanks a ton!

Hello BP!

I am planning on finding property in North Carolina. I would be an OOO investor and this would be my first property. Can you give me advice or a heads-up on what to keep in mind going into this? Is there something in my blind spot in terms taxes and law. I understand it is landlord friendly so as far as OOO goes, it is probably a good choice as far as I can tell.

I am specifically looking in the research triangle (e.g., Raleigh / Durham) and Charlotte.

Thanks a lot!

Sorry for the long gap in response. I've been debating what I should do for the past few months and I think I've adjusted my plans fairly significantly since 6 months back. I am now putting Northern NJ into the backburner if I decide to invest in the local market later (I reside in NYC). Instead, I've decided to take a trip down south to NC and GA and spend a couple weeks looking at some properties in these areas. The reason for this drastic change is that in Northern NJ, prices are very high and I get no where near the 1% rule. It's also not clear how much upward room there is for appreciation (but that's anyone's guess, right).

However, in NC/GA there are many more options including brand new homes for much cheaper e.g. < $300k, hence I want to give this a try.

Of course, if this doesn't work for me, then Northern Jersey is still in consideration. Rutherford, East Rutherford, Hasbrouck Heights, and area were my favorite in terms of grocery convenience/distance to city/property taxes. My cousin recently closed on a property in Maywood.

Hope this helps.

I'm new too. So far I've been Googling the average costs for whatever I'm interested in in a particular zip code. If you go on Realtor.com they also show breakdown of monthly costs in the listings. Together, you can get a good idea from these two sources. If you have another easy method, I'd like to hear about it.

@Tara S., that's what I'm doing now. But I'm at this stage where my ideas, criteria's, and knowledge change wildly every week and as a result feel the need to bug agents constantly. But given what I've learned from this thread, better I spend more time on BP forums instead of badgering agents until I have a better idea of what I'm trying to do with my REI life haha.

@David M. wish I was joking but I really am an infant here. I thought it was literally enough to get a license to get access to all inventory state-wide with no brokerages involved (thought there was some magical online portal or something that I can access myself from home to the coveted access to MLS) - good to know I'm as mistaken as a newbie can be.

At any rate, thanks for the explanation, I'm now definitely not planning to get a license soon.@Dennis Soto

@Dennis Soto, I see now why you had to raise the question.

Thanks everyone for the comments, I've been doing a lot of homework for the past couple weeks. 

@Marios Hoppas, I have considered Ridgefield Park but I was turned off by the high prop taxes as you mentioned. From my view, such high tax would eat up the cash flow that is already incredibly hard to acquire in this market as others mentioned. For the same reason, @Shivam Patel it is more reason I am avoiding the FHA/PMI double-trouble, especially considering @Mark F. was having no luck getting his offers even considered with an FHA.

All this combined with the fact that these townships in general appreciated something like 20% since a year ago, I am reconsidering altogether if it is better to look in NYC area as people flee or get even more exotic and look around Upstate NY, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania (Philly?). I am halfway through David Greene's BRRRR book and I'm now compelled to deploy my cash for a BRRRR instead of a house hack and it doesn't seem practical to BRRRR in Northern Jersey (or NYC, of course) with my capital (probably reach $100k cash by summer 2021).

I gotta say, my plans keep changing fairly drastically week-to-week; I'm excited to see where my mind is in another couple weeks :) Thanks for bearing with me!