All Forum Posts by: David C Heiling

Anyone available this week?

Hello, everyone! :)

Very much just starting out! Listened to some podcast episodes, read some content, and tried to do a small market analysis with some examples. If anyone has a few minutes, I'm specifically looking for any metrics I missed that are important, maybe some guidance in terms of what to prioritize here or elsewhere, and just some overall thoughts on if these properties, in theory, could do well.

Please note, that I primarily am looking for cash flow in this example! Cheers:

Best neighborhoods: Link

Population growth: +0.17%

Unemployment: 3.1% (national average 3.8%)

Housing market conditions: +1.4% (Zillow)

Rent growth: +$100/mo YoY (Zillow)

Rent-to-price ratio:

Median home sale price: $105k

Median rental price

Days-on-market: -4 YoY (Realtor)

Example property: (Movoto)

2304 E 101st St, Cleveland, OH 44106

4 beds, 1 bath

Condition: C+

Location: C+

Rental estimate: $1,450

Home price: $100,000

1% rule: 1.45% (excellent)

50% rule: $725 (expenses) + $500 (mortgage)

Cash flow: $200 (conservative); $400 (liberal)

Example property: (Movoto)

1525 E 85 St, Cleveland, OH 44106

4 beds, 3 bath

Condition: B-

Location: C

Rental estimate: $2,400

Home price: $115,000

1% rule: 2.09% (excellent)

50% rule: $1200 (expenses) + $600 (mortgage)

Cash flow: $600 (conservative); $800 (liberal)

Hello all!

David here. 

I've been looking at investing in short-term rentals for a few months, but I have turned my attention toward longer term. I need some help knowing the best locations and bouncing my potential addresses off someone familiar with the area. I'd also like to find local financing as well. Looking at some places in the $60k-$100k range. Would be interested in acquiring two that would get me about ~$600 cashflow per month to start out.

Lmk if you can help me. 

Thanks a lot!

Hey, y'all!

David here. Going through my options for a property in Maine that we intend to use as a STR. I want to make sure I tie my shoes tight and stand up real straight and be above water here — I want to do everything right.

I've been presented with the possibility of financing this property by using a second home loan (10% down instead of 15-25%), and it's appealing to keep liquid. I have no problems with hanging out at my second home for 14 days and my potential mortgage lender assures me that it's on the up-and-up. 

What am I missing? Tax implications? Forms to fill out? Blindsided by mortgage fraud letters in the mail?

There are some forums on here that debate the different requirements by different lenders on what qualifies as a second home loan v. investment property, but at the end of the day — if the only real difference is that I can save 10% and have to hang out at a beautiful AirBNB for two weeks, I'm all in!

Any intel would be greatly appreciated! 

Here's to bigger pockets. 

Hey Angie! 

Yes, we LOVE Blowing Rock. There was a cite cabin up there for a little under $250k a few months ago and it was so appealing. There's currently a duplex for a little over $410k in Monroe, as well. We also like Maggie Valley and Sylva quite a bit. 

Really interesting about the smaller towns that may not be top-of-mind. Thanks a lot for bringing that to my attention. I appreciate you!

A little background... I'll keep it short though because I know I'm targeting a specific audience here. I traveled the world for five years and stayed in AirBNBs in most of the places I went. The experience of being able to get a local's perspective is very valuable to travelers. 

That's why STR is so appealing to me. As I've shared in another post, I've done some research and have identified the Maine coast, Madison, WI, the Ozarks, northern Vermont and Boise as some pretty good options for STR income.

But I want to know from y'all. Is it better to look at bigger cities? Highly visited outdoor recreation areas?

I use a mix of finance background, STR tools, and a not-so-fully-functioning AI data manipulator to parse through listings I choose — but any additional resources, thoughts, experiences, or stories sure would be appreciated. 

I love Bigger Pockets — let's connect!

I just want to shout out all three of these responses as exceptionally helpful, kind and amazing. I appreciate all of you. Thanks so much. 

I'm not going to say I have a ton of experience, but I was lucky enough to learn from the men in my life growing up some good things to look for in a house. They would always say, "get the ones with good bones that need a hug" give them the hug, make 'em look pretty and hand it off to the next fella. 

Pretty much verbatim, LOL.

I'm excited about a lot of different opportunities. STRs in high-yield and high-trafficked areas (especially around national parks if I could make it happen), multi-family house hacking, flipping (maybe wait a few years and rent to dodge cap gains), but I understand that all this excitement can bite me if I'm not careful.

That begs the question if you could take one or two of the lessons learned — could you help a new guy out and teach me a little?

Hello, all! 

I'm a first-time real estate investor! Hoping to make some connections here. After watching my dad and uncle flip houses growing up, it's time for me to step up to the plate. I have about $75k in the bank. I make around $160k a year at my current job, but I dislike it. 

I currently live in Charlotte, NC. I've been using BiggerPockets' resources for a few months and I've found a property in Maine ($260k) that my wife and I love. The goal would be to use it as a short-term rental because of its location near the coast. I've run comps every which way to Sunday, and even with cutting in a property management company for 25% to run it from afar, considering the renovations and furnishing costs, we'd still be able to make a positive annual net yield and c-o-c at about 57% occupancy. 

That's the option we get excited about. There are some upfront costs, but nothing nuts. My head, however, thinks we should probably just look for a multi-family unit here in Charlotte, put the 5% down, live on one side, and rent the other, but it just doesn't hit the same. There are a few near Madison Park and another few in Elizabeth we could choose from. We could get some steady income, but there isn't much supply for multi-families in Charlotte at the moment.

For STRs, I have also looked extensively at Madison, WI (my hometown) and the Ozarks (wife's home state) as other potential opportunities for us. I would love to hear any opinions, advice, or suggestions about STRs vs. multi-family home hacking as a first-time investor. Thanks so much for reading, and have a great day!