All Forum Posts by: Derek Criscitiello

Ryan I'm sending you a PM. I don't want to give out my good guys to everyone as they are already extremely busy. Talk to you soon!

Quote from @Wes M.:

Lessons learned? Challenges?

In North Carolina, if you submit an offer with DD fee, technically that money is obligated at the moment the offer is delivered to seller. We considered backing out of the deal after a verbal confirmation from listing broker as we received no signed contract attesting to being officially under contract within 48 hours. We considered backing out and listing broker informed us that $4,000 due diligence would still be required. 

Wes I'm not sure the listing broker was correct there. DD is not due until an offer is accepted, it really doesn't make sense otherwise. A verbal agreement is not binding so until I see signatures I will not ask my client to send the DD fee.

Wilmington, NC is a hot market for sure right now. Lots of people moving in and was pegged as most moved to city in 2022 by United Van Lines movers.  Only issue here is deals are getting harder to find and the properties that are good deals will only be on the market for a day or two.  Currently looking for a developer to work with to build a few duplexes in the area as they are few and far between on the market.

Hey Johnny, there are some great lenders in the area that can give you some guidance as far as what type of loan would be best for you.  If you are buying for the long term FHA is a great option however if you are doing a BRRRR and the house needs a lot of work it may not be the best option for you.  I decided to go conventional just so I can recast the loan in the future when the time is right.

The hardest part right now is finding the deals, anything on the MLS that is priced right for investors will go in a few days in this area.  A different strategy is finding listings that have been on the market for a while and putting in an offer way below asking, you never know when circumstances change and someone just wants to be done with selling. I think your best bet is finding an off market deal in the current climate here with so many people moving to this area.  

Blake who replied above is a great resource who has taught me a bunch, we have been door knocking together and he has found some great deals recently so definitely use him as a resource. Best of luck on your journey!

Quote from @Ross M.:

I'm excited to announce that after 3 months of hard work and lots of back and forth travel, our listing is live! You can view it here.

So far we're just on AirBNB, but we'll add other channels and a direct booking site soon.

Any feedback is welcome! All credit for the interior design goes to my wonderful wife and business partner, @Janelle Matheny, who just joined BP.

Awesome Ross! Listing looks great. Keep us posted as to how the rental does once a little bit of time has passed. I'm an agent in Wilmington who is looking for a live in flip at the moment but also interested in STRs in this area and the mountains. NC has plenty to offer and seems to just keep growing.

I would agree with much of what is said already. When looking at properties in this market not all will be a good fit for every investment strategy, most agents won't have a clue about finding those deals for investors. For example right now in Wilmington, it is hard to make a SFH cashflow as opposed to when interest rates were lower. Multi-family homes are a bit harder to find in this market unless you want to build one yourself. I enjoy analyzing deals for myself anyway so it makes that much easier to look at deals for investors and make sure they are going to work for them.

Having a list of contacts that can be trusted to do any repair work needed is a huge resource as that alone could be a job to find good subcontractors.  Being a good agent doesn't mean just finding a property for someone, it means being a resource in the community that they can rely on when they need help.

My wife does property management in CO and CO law requires all landlords to take section 8 vouchers.  Some of that tax revenue is going towards that so it will likely help single family/apartment rentals that a priced towards the lower end of the market.  So overall I think it could be good for property investors as the state money is guaranteed income.

Quote from @Alicia Marks:

I'll be looking to invest in the area likely next year. Side question- my son is 95% likely going to UNCW and I'll be looking for a househack. Anywhere I should avoid? Also if anyone went to or has kids at UNCW I'd love to hear your experience. He's majoring in marine biology, so the coastal setting is a huge plus over other schools we looked at in NC.

Good idea Alicia.  I'm curious what route you want to use to house hack with your son living there? Buying an apartment and renting out the other bedrooms seems like it could be a good idea but you may not build the equity like you would in a home. Still a great way to save money/potentially make some extra cash flow.