All Forum Posts by: Chris Carrigan

I have a STR which I renovated using a HELOC on my primary home. Balance is $79k at 7%. No other mortgage on the STR. The STR has been in business now for 8 months. Gross earnings average is $2k per month. Is it possible to refinance the HELOC now into a conventional on the STR to remove the HELOC from my primary home and free that up for other investments. The STR's value is now about $200k, not counting the acreage which is about another $150k of value.

If you want a future in real estate investment you may want to look at other markets instead of Bozeman and almost anywhere in California.  Those are two very highly priced markets.  If your situation allows you to go elsewhere I’d start looking for more favorable markets to start in. 

If you are looking to cash flow Raleigh is not the place.  Prices are too high and competition is fierce. It is a great buy and hold for appreciation area.  Going further outside of the city can be an option, but of course your rental demand will be lower.  With the way the area is growing however demand will be expanding .  It wasn’t too long ago that you could find great deals in places like Clayton and Youngsville.  Now those areas bring top dollar. 

Hi Gilad,

I’d be glad to help you find a home.  As a retired Major from the Raleigh Police Dept I’m uniquely aware of all of the Raleigh area.  After retiring in 2018 I joined my wife in the Real Estate sales and investing business. 

Got a quote for strategic plan and monthly maintenance from a CTS for $12k+ for first year. I'm just starting with a new STR and can't swing all that right now. So I'm looking for someone to just help with what I need now. Old, family home was gifted to us. This past year we decided to go ahead and fix it up and start renting it. The home is currently held in our names and we tentatively plan on doing a qualified joint venture. So I have been renovating for the past 14 months. Placed into service as an STR in the first week of November. I'll have at least 5 rentals averaging less than 7 days by the end of the year. Wife and I are both full time real estate agents. I'll have 500 hours in the rental by the end of the year. Want to place all the renovation purchases into their respective depreciation classes/schedules. So cost seg via receipts. What I need right now is book keeping assistance to get the purchases set up for depreciation, plus help in identifying basis for the home and some advice on if this is the best plan going forward. Also I've been using QB online, but apparently it doesn't do auto depreciation you have to manually subtract it each year, so is there a better software to use that will do it automatically after you have it all set up right? Willing to pay for what I need, helpful if in NC but not required.

When I run the numbers for your zip code I get 67% occupancy rate, but of course that's an average and coastal locations will be higher. Low market is of course the winter. Is there something about your property or immediate area that would attract off-season renters? What size is your home? Looks like the majority of the STR homes are 3-5 bedrooms, so if you have a 1 or 2 BR there's a shortage of those.

Not a lot has changed.   Low inventory is keeping prices high.  Inner city gentrification is still a hot market in both Raleigh and Durham as class D, F areas are getting $600k+ homes built.  Opportunity is there for the brave of heart.  The outer suburbs are all getting over populated now causing significant traffic issues and increased prices. I’d be happy to discuss specifics if you’re interested. 

The inventory is too low for a market correction here in the Raleigh area.  A lot of people sitting out of the market right now waiting for rates to drop.  If they drop below 5, prices will jump again as we’ll be back to multiple offer situations on most sales.  Wake County is still growing also which puts additional pressure on inventory. I’d say your safe here for the foreseeable future assuming you can get a property for a price that allows you to cash flow any amount. 

Thanks for the video link Sarah. That does bring up another question. The property is owned outright, but the renovation was completed by taking out a HELOC on my personal property. I eventually would want to get that debt back under the STR where it belongs. So would do a cash-out refinance or home equity loan on the STR to pay back the HELOC on my home. I guess I would need it under my name still to accomplish that?