All Forum Posts by: James Carter

@Adam Lacey, thank you for the insight. I have not considered working with a wholesaler. Where would I find more info about wholesalers in a state that I do not currently live?

My wife and I are looking to invest in a couple of quadriplexes and were wanting some tips and tricks that come along with this type of investment. This will be a new venture for us, as we have only ever owned single family homes. Are there any drawbacks to this investment?

Stephen, the price point of the property is $205,000, and I would say it is a class B neighborhood.

 Stephen, thank you for the response. By price point, are you saying to compare the price points for selling and renting the house? I really like that strategy of putting the house on the market for both renting and selling, and seeing what offer comes forward first. I had not considered that before. 

I definitely had a plan for the kitchen, a light upgrade by putting a backsplash. Simple, but I think it will be worth it. I'm also considering building a shed in the backyard, this would benefit me while I live there, and I believe that it would be a good feature for a buyer or renter. 

I would like to pose a question. First, I would like to point out that this home is new, built in 2019. My master bath has a small shower and a good size tub. I was considering pulling the tub and converting it into a walk in shower, and then turning the small shower into an extra storage space. I'm not sure how this will affect the value of the home. I do have a second bathroom with a tub upstairs. Any thoughts on going through with this?

Derek, I think you're right. I can easily get carried away upgrading things to my liking, but I do need to take into consideration that the property will just be up for rent. I also know that renters may not always take care of things as I do. I think I'll do some reflection on my upgrades so I'm not needlessly throwing money into the property. Thank you for the response, always great to get someone else's perspective. 

I'm looking to upgrade my house, like in the kitchen or bathroom. I'm not looking to spend a whole lot, but would like to increase the value. Where is the best place to start at? What kinds of things add the most value? I want the property to be more appealing to renters when we move, and I also want to increase the value of the property down the line when I decide to sell.

Welcome Marvin, I joined not too long ago. There's a lot of experience floating around this site. I originally thought about investing into short term rentals in Playa del Carmen, but my mind was opened to multi-family rentals. I haven't jumped the gun, but it seems like a solid investment strategy. I currently have a buy and hold rental in Florida, and plan on doing the same with the property I have in North Carolina as well. If you have any questions about anything hit me up. 

Hello Daniel, I think it's great that you are looking into investing at a young age. It is daunting to look at investing overall, and it can leave you wondering where to begin. Because you're so young, you have a great opportunity to research and learn as much as you can before you make the leap. I think it is important to understand the different avenues you can go down in real estate investing. You can focus on one or even a couple of different avenues, but become well versed in those. My first property was one that my wife and I lived in while stationed in Florida, we used that property when we left as a long term rental, and we do not regret it. I own my second property in North Carolina, and we plan to keep the long term rental going with it as well. If you have any questions over long term rentals, or even short term rentals let me know. I have been learning myself, and this is the perfect place for people to learn from one another.

Hello everyone! My wife and I live in Jacksonville, North Carolina. My name is James, I have very little experience in investing in real estate. I am currently serving in the Navy, and I am looking to increase our income and eventually not have to work a traditional job. I have two properties as of now. One in Florida which is a buy and hold rental, and another in North Carolina where we reside. I’m planning on renting my current house after leaving North Carolina.

My current goals in real estate are to invest in buy and hold rentals, as well as short term rentals. I came upon this site when doing some research on property in Playa del Carmen and Tulum. I was impressed with the amount of knowledge flowing around, and thought that I should jump on here to network and learn. That being said, I’d love to learn more on how to make the most out of my investments.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $153,000
Cash invested: $20,000

Purchased this home in late 2017 with the intent to stop wasting money on renting, as well as use it as a rental when I PCS'd out of the area. We were able to pay the property off, however, we did have to invest around $20,000 for some unforeseen issues (septic and air conditioning). That being said, it is now hooked up to sewer and has a whole new air conditioning system.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Seemed like a solid win for us. We wanted extra income, plus we invested $20,000 for necessary repairs and we could not afford to sell the property until we made that money back.

How did you finance this deal?

We initially financed this house with a VA loan, but we paid it off within a year using money from a lawsuit.

What was the outcome?

This property, although it gave us headaches at the beginning when everything seemed to need repairing, has given us a great asset. The area is growing and the market is rising. Additionally, the rental income has helped us a great deal.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The house was built in 1983, and we experienced a lot of issues that had to be resolved. We had never bought a house before, and did not know what to look for. The septic was completely degraded, and our air conditioning system was leaking and had rotted the flooring in our hall and in two bedrooms.