All Forum Posts by: Ian MacDougall

Hello BP!

I'm a buy and hold investor and licensed agent with New Western in Dupont Circle. I'm looking to build relationships with and be a resource for serious end-buyers searching for a consistent inventory of flips, holds, or teardowns/developments. Our brokerage sold 19 deals just within January (the usual slow month!) all across the DMV and Baltimore metro areas. Feel free to reply here, DM me, or sign up with me today to start receiving deals: https://www.newwestern.com/agent/ian-macdougall/

Hey Harry!

Piggybacking on Michael's comment, definitely look up reviews, rates, and experiences of property managers in the area. Sometimes the best method is trying a property manager out, and if they know it's a trial run and you're picking up more properties that they can manage, they'll have an incentive to do right by you. I have a cousin who invests in Pittsburgh but I believe he manages himself since he lives there, regardless I'll double check if he has a rec.

You're not still investing in the DC area for rentals are you? I invest myself and am an agent for a brokerage that puts out 30-40+ off-market deals on average every month across the DMV. Let me know if you're still active in the area!

Ian

Investors!! I'm a buy and hold investor and licensed agent with New Western, we're a nationwide brokerage that operates a marketplace for off-market properties to rehab. If you're an investor like me, struggling to find consistent deal flow and looking for properties to rehab where the numbers actually work, please respond to this thread/DM me. Our DC office is getting 40-50+ deals per month and is looking for end buyers!

Feel free to check out New Western's website or my landing page for more information: https://www.newwestern.com/agent/ian-macdougall/

Hey @Robin Pentecost, welcome to BP and the investing world! Lynchburg is a great market to get into. I'm not sure if this aligns with your "coliving" idea as I haven't listened to that BP pod episode yet, but if you can house hack or live in an investment property as a primary residence, that's the easiest, cheapest, and most effective way to start investing in real estate (especially in Lynchburg). I did it myself a few years back for my first rental. I barely put any money down on a first time homebuyer's loan for a townhouse because I was broke at the time, yet still cash flowed and appreciated right from the jump. I rented out the other rooms to buddies while living there, then rented the whole place out after some cosmetic remodeling and moving out. I would suggest finding an investor-friendly agent in the area to help you identify a property with high potential to cash flow and appreciate in value. That made a huge difference for me; first time buying can be terrifying!

As for a meetup, I go to the Lynchburg REIA meetups when I'm in town since I live in northern VA now. They have a networking breakfast at the Panera on Lakeside Dr. every Friday at 7:30am, plus a more formal meetup usually with a speaker every 2nd Thursday of every month at Stoney Badger on Old Forest Rd.

Hope this helps, I'm happy to answer any questions you have!

Hey BP,

My buddy has a distressed property in downtown Lynchburg, VA that needs so much work that the best play would be to demo and rebuild. I'm talking foundation/structural damage (wobbly second floor), a little fire damage, etc. The property is basically down to studs save a few drywall pieces on stairwell and upstairs.

Since I'm more of a beginning investor/wholesaler, I figured I'd offload it to someone with more demo/rebuild expertise or has connections to those that have it. Is there anyone in the central VA area who has experience in this and would be willing to take it on? Comment or PM me if you're interested or need more details!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hey BP!

I need some advice on a course of action here.

So I had this distressed property under contract initially for 14k, thinking I could wholesale for 20k. However, upon further inspection by my partner, this place needs so much work that it likely makes more sense just to tear down and rebuild. I'm talking the works: foundation damage, a little fire damage, no main floor just joists, second floor is wobbly (structure damage), needs HVAC/plumbing/electrical, etc. My partner was looking to take it for ~10k if the numbers work for a developer, but he couldn't get in a meeting with his developer and is already preoccupied with rehabbing another property.

The seller and I already canceled the original contract due to the inspection findings. However, the seller is willing to wait for me to continue looking for a buyer or developer and will let it off his hands for 9k before we agree to another contract. So, my question is, should I call around to developers in the area for quotes to buy myself? Should I take a shot instead with buying it as-is and calling contractors to do a full rehab?

Some context:
- While I've done a lot of research the past several years, I only have one deal under my belt and I'm just starting to get into (legal and responsible) wholesaling to build up capital before I refi my first deal. Never done a demo/rebuild deal or one that needs a serious rehab like this. I don't have a lot of capital myself but have partners that do.

- Property is in central VA (Lynchburg) in a C-class, maybe D neighborhood, but will be appreciating due to its proximity to downtown.

- ARV for a full rehab would be ~70-80k based off comps. New build could likely get a little more than that.

- I live and work in northern VA so I wouldn't be able to do any rehab work myself until the summer.

I realize this is a lot, but any advice is welcome and greatly appreciated!

@Adrienne Green If you wouldn't mind sharing details with another NoVA (Alexandria) investor as well, please let me know! My usual meet-up has been on a hiatus, but would love to connect more with DMV investors.

Do you have any friends interested in investing as well? Most investors have gotten their start investing with partners or friends. Right now, I don't have as much capital from working on a rehab, but I do have buddies that have the capital but not as much expertise as I do who are interested in investing long term. You'd also be surprised how many people are eager to invest their capital but want to be completely passive. As long as you have your goals aligned and a solid attorney to set up how your business relationship will work then you're golden. Otherwise, check into local REIA meetings; you may need to wait until the pandemic is over depending on where you are, but a lot of them are virtual now.

I don't have too much experience with Danville other than seeing that there are revitalization efforts going on for its downtown area for the past several years. As others have said, an industrial town like this has definitely suffered economically. That casino will definitely be beneficial though - maybe it has been approved by now?

Regardless, it sounds like the area is more of a cash flow play than a cash flow + appreciation. Not sure if you're weighing options, but I invest in Lynchburg (45-1hr north of Danville) which is a great market to invest in if you want to ensure more appreciation in your investments. Three colleges/universities plus a community college in town with a rapidly developing downtown area. Has a hospital network as well. I recently rented a townhouse for above market rent within a week of listing to awesome tenants. Hope this at least somewhat helps!

Definitely market dependent. As the others mentioned, I suggest using other resources to double check that you can get a certain rent number (agent, zillow, property managers, etc.). I used Rentometer for my first (town)house hack deal in Lynchburg. The townhouse is a 3bd 1.5br which I rehabbed this past summer. Rentometer said $1200 was too high for the area, but I got countless inquiries and rented the place out within a week listing at $1200. You can always drop or raise the price if you're not getting bites. Remember too, that you don't want rent too low that you get undesirable tenants or too high that all tenants are priced out of it. Good luck!