All Forum Posts by: Jeffrey Long

If you're considering the Myrtle Beach area I'd keep an eye on the extreme north end, Cherry Grove, and the south end, Murrells Inlet

I agree with @Robert S.. The HOA fees kill the deal more often than the price of the unit, and vacation rental units become riskier the later we are in an economic cycle. They may cash flow right now after HOA and Property Management fees, but all it takes is one little economic hiccup and those tourists go bye-bye.

 A friend of mine went to the tax sale late last year and said it was a waste of time prices were too high. I don't have time to attend them so I wouldn't know. 

 Hah! There is much truth to this post.

Those numbers are probably gross for the year, so don't count on that following your snowbird strategy. Watch out for the HOA ($670/mo). Property Management for condo-tels often runs 30-50% so that seems about right. Ask for a record of any previous and upcoming Special Assessments. Many of the condo-tels charge an assessment every few years to update the furniture and such in the property.

@Daniel L Gorgone Hi Daniel, Myrtle Beach is a very unique market.  I'm both a realtor and investor in the area and I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have - just shoot me a PM.

Some questions you should be thinking about: do you want on site property management, is cash flow important to you since you are really buying for your retirement, what amenities do you want, how much of an HOA are you willing to pay, etc.

Pro tip: Most beach front condos do not cash flow in this market.  It's an appreciation game right now unless you have a really spot on property management strategy. Your idea of snowbirding and renting during vacation season is spot on but you'll still need to have a really good grasp of what your Summer numbers will be after property management fees.

@Mike Lynch Your ROE does sound a bit low, but that's one of the problems with 1031 exchanges - they rush you to do a deal and sometimes you end up paying retail to avoid taxes. It's a trade-off.

I would not compare your property to Myrtle Beach and Wilmington and think "man, the rent over there would be so much better" because the real estate prices are higher as well.  Instead I would think about how you are going to find your next deal and get a better ROE. 

On a good note, Shallotte is growing I agree with @Russ Luce. If this is a long-term play you will see rents go up over time as Myrtle Beach expands North and Wilmington expands South.  I have friends who bought their homes in Shallotte and are quite happy.

 Pretty much. Do you want a passive investment or do you want control?

@Jonathan Edmund

1. Smaller, specific questions generally get more response that wall-of-text information dumps.

2. Coastal areas generally don't cashflow.  To closer you are to the beach, the harder it is to find cash flow. 

3. I'm an investor and licensed agent who lives in Little River/North Myrtle Beach. I leave the tourist trap area to the out-of-state money flooding in. 

4. MLS deals are rare. As mentioned by others above, you'll have to create some other advantage to stack with being an agent. House hacking, flipping, yellow letters, or just plain being good at figuring out which areas you can rent for more.

Good luck out there. There are some good investments but you've got to really know Horry County on a street-by-street basis and let out-of-towners play with their monopoly money in most places.

@James Judge $70k will get you an efficiency/studio/1 bedroom on the ocean or maybe 2 bedroom on the second row. Plan on an HOA fee of about $500-800/month.

Plan on vacation months (Apr-Aug) bringing in 3X what Winter months do in rent.   Winters will likely not cash flow while Summers definitely will. It's a very seasonal market and I'd look at comparables on Air BNB to figure out what rooms are going for in different seasons.

I'm a realtor and investor in Myrtle Beach if you need any assistance just PM me.