All Forum Posts by: Jared Wonders

@Finn Cardiff

Thanks for starting the discussion and all terrific suggestions above. Another area you could consider venturing into is Fort Mill/Rock Hill. Significant amount of growth in these cities which has been spurred by Charlotte growth, however you do run into issues with higher taxes for non-owner occupants. Good luck in your search! I would definitely vouch for Mint Hill/Matthews area. My wife and I bought a project that we just finished up in Matthews and it was very easy to find good renters if marketed at the right price.

Jared Wonders

Good evening @Alpesh Parmar,

Feel free to send me a PM and I can tell you who NOT to use :). Hope you have a good evening and good luck investing!

Jared Wonders

Hey @Sid Montero

Spoken from experience it is likely just this particular company's requirement, although they may require a higher downpayment due to other issues such as credit scores, debt load, etc. The particular company that we used in Charlotte actually would have allowed us to purchase our first and second investment properties with 15% down, however, my wife and I decided to go with the traditional 20% because it cash flowed better. Check out Atlantic Bay Mortgage. They did a great job and allowed us to close a week early on both of the deals. In particular, Patrick Messinger was stellar. Hope this helps and let me know if you would like me to send along contact information for them or anything! Good luck!

Jared Wonders

Good afternoon Patrick!

My wife and I have purchased based on conventional mortgages therefore I unfortunately do not have the experience with the company regarding refinancing options or LOC or personal loans. Best of luck!

Jared Wonders

Congrats on getting started @Zachary Whiteside! My wife and I have used Atlantic Bay with Patrick Messinger and have been pleased with getting deals closed quickly and a week before closing our most recent investment. PM me if you need further details and good luck getting started! Agree with what others have said about local banks though. Keep networking!!

Jared Wonders

@Andrew Smith the above is an absolutely terrific guide in vetting a property manager. I’d also add that from experience I will NEVER again hire a property manager contract in which I’m locked into for a year. This cost me a good chunk of change but I like to say it was educational costs 😊. Once on board we had pretty much instant red flags and issues but unfortunately since we were locked in there was no way to get out of the contract without surrendering early termination fees.

Another thing I would say is do research on your particular market and know very well what rent prices are and what the market dictates you can rent a property for. As a personal challenge I’d ask yourself “what are the reasons I do not wish to manage?” And “why should I not self-manage at this time?” In my personal opinion NO ONE will care more about than an investment property more than you so if you do hire someone to care for YOUR investment do your due diligence and be sure to manage your manager. Slow to hire, quick to fire. Good luck in your pursuit and feel free to reach out if you have further questions!

Jared Wonders

We used Patrick Messinger at Atlantic Bay Mortgage and they were able to assist with a quick close.

@Eileen Mazza property taxes in SC are cheaper for owner occupants but NOT non-owner occupants in particular counties in and around Charlotte. Important to distinguish the difference. For example a house hack would be advantageous tax wise as you’d be living in the property, however, millage rates for SC are almost triple for non-owner occupants.

@John Patterson Good luck investing in the area! I’d highly recommend networking and meeting fellow investors in the area. Gastonia may be a good idea now and I’m sure many people are successful there but after working in and around the area for a few years I personally would not touch it. If you are looking for a property in SC in particular I’d highly encourage you to do some research on the tax assessors website for York county (if investing in this county) to know how to calculate the taxes prior to making offers and obtaining lending if going this route.

Jared Wonders

Completely agree with all that has been said above. Charlotte is definitely booming and has seen A LOT of growth but to assume appreciation will continue the way it has is speculative and if you don’t have a property that cash flows you can run into a lot of problems if you don’t account for vacancy or have adequate reserves in place if maintenance/repairs come up (which they will). That being said there are value add properties available here but I can’t emphasize the importance of networking and continually being on the look out for these opportunities.

Jared Wonders

Hey Nate,

Appreciate you sending the message and always glad to see a fellow pharmacist successful in REI on BP. Feel free to PM me if you'd like. Thanks!

Jared Wonders