All Forum Posts by: Derek Stellwagen

I'm under contract for a duplex in Anderson SC. Each side rents for $1,100 and the original contract was for $208k. Then the appraisal came back with two values. One was the "cost approach (if developed)" for $205,418 and the other was the "Sales comparison approach" for $196,000which the appraiser says in the report is the most reliable. I didn't see the two values in the appraisal and asked the sellers to come down to $205,418 which they did. Bank wrote the loan for 75% of $196k. Now the sellers agree to $203k and seem eager to close. My numbers worked at $208k which is better than a 1% deal. Hi have enough cash to cover the additional down payment but don't want to overpay. I'm thinking that if it meets my criteria and cash flows then go ahead. Does anyone have any advice? Ps-all the comps used for the appraisal are in the $140k-$155k range and quite different.

My rentals are in Anderson and no students are currently living there.

We're the opposite, we lived in Anderson and moved to Clemson and now rent out our hose in Anderson and it has been great. Tax wise you need to make a clean break. Make sure you keep track of all expenses and income from the rental as well as which day you put the property up for rent (so you can prorate the property taxes mortgage interest etc.). Also note that Clemson University is building a ton of student rental housing right now so take that into consideration when thinking about where rents might go. (I'm not a tax professional)

Be aware that right now Clemson is building a ton of student housing on campus. Who knows how that will affect prices. Maybe they will let us just that many more students. Anyway it is an unknown (risk) and something to consider.

There are two foothills property management companies in the area. One is in Clemson and I've not heard good things. Foothills property management in Anderson is who handles my one (about to be 3) units and they have been fantastic. Very professional, quick answers to questions, good tenants, and no vacancy longer than a week. We live in the Rock Creek Road area and I work in Anderson. Clemson is the best!

I used the Dave Ramsey plan pay off our primary so swallowing anything other than the minimum interest possible was something that took me a bit to get used to. Making the transition from minimizing debt to maximizing cash flow has been a process. I think the foundation he taught me still helps me keep a healthy level of caution about risk. If I didn't have that I'd probably not measure risk at all and get my head taken off.

Yes, 19% cash on cash payback of the points. Decided on a 30 year though to maximize cash flow. Thanks for all the BP help!

Thanks for the feedback. We're proceeding with the refi and will be looking for a deal to invest in real soon.

Hi, I'm a new investor in Clemson SC (graduated 2005) and I have a $100k paid for rental property in Anderson SC. I'm looking to pull 75% of the equity out to use as the down payments on future rental properties. Here are three options that the bank is offering on a 15 year fixed rate:

3.5%, $375 fee, -> $536 principal and interest payment/mo.

3.625%, $94 fee, -> $541 principal and interest payment/mo.

3.75%, they pay me $188, ->545 principal and interest payment/mo.

What do you think of these options? The bank is going to charge a $749 origination fee too. Does that sound high or normal? I haven't shopped around at other banks either. This is the bank that did the load on the rental (paid off) and my primary.

If you're in the Clemson area and would like to get together and talk about real estate, please let me know!

Thanks!