All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Edmund

I have recently decided to pursue long term rental properties part time as being a Realtor in my area is my full time job. I currently have held off on purchasing a primary residence due to wanting to pursue rental properties. I wasn't sure if it was a better idea to incur the debt of being a homeowner before having 1 or 2 rentals under my belt first. As a first time investor, do you recommend finding a good deal and using the property as a rental property first or with the first deal, using it as a primary for a year, then renting out and moving onto something else?

I currently don't have much debt besides a small amount of student loans and a car payment and my monthly living expenses. I'd like to weigh the pros and cons of both options if possible. Any input is greatly appreciated!!! My end goal is to eventually move out of full time real estate and be a full time investor.

@Jeffrey Long Thanks for the advice man! I really like the Little River area but I think I'm going to have to get a little more creative! 

I have thought about finding a 4 plex or something and living in one for a year then moving on. The problem in our area is finding one in an area I'd be ok living lol. That would be the perfect scenario because I could do a primary residence financing but I have yet to find a decent multi family in our area and I don't want to live outside of Horry County. But that would be ideal. But yea I'm 25 and single so it would work fine for me temporarily. @Pete Schmidt

@Pete Schmidt that's the problem is I don't know anything about the repair or renovation business so with my first property, I really want to limit the amount of work it needs which brings me back to what you're saying about prices and finding deals. So no matter the property you always approach with owner financing? Do people that let their properties end up in that bad of shape usually agree to owner finance? But yea I have yet to come across any great finds in good areas for the price. Mostly all the cheap properties are in areas you couldn't pay me to live in. But I'm going to keep looking.

@Jill F. Thank you for the response and @Anna Buffkin...I'm from the area so I know the area well. I live in North Myrtle Beach. I was looking at some homes that were pre foreclosure on zillow and some other sites. Have either of you ever been able to snag up pre foreclosures from desperate homeowners before they were auctioned or listed? 

@Caleb Coblentz Yea I'm struggling to find anything. But yea I like the find an area you like and look for worst house method. Any tips for getting conventional financing when you're purchasing under an LLC? Unless you have a different way you're obtaining financing. Trying to avoid paying cash for anything strictly for leverage reasons. Thanks for the advice!

I'm a local Realtor in Myrtle Beach but want to start taking my money and buying up rental properties. I'm just looking for tips from local investors as to how they are finding good deals. I comb the MLS daily and when I run the numbers on most properties, even assuming I get them at a discount, a lot of them just don't make sense. I know the rental market is fairly solid here I see it every day. Just looking for some general advice, guidance and tips on how to really get started.

I understand the buying/selling aspect obviously and the analysis part of it, just looking for the secret to finding the deals or spotting them more easily. Any local investors find that going to the Horry County foreclosure auction is worth it? From my experience up there, there is just a handful of heavy hitters snagging up most of the properties and I've ran the numbers on a lot of them and don't see how they are making any money. I'm missing something somewhere.

I'm only interested in long term rentals as I'm not a fan of short term rentals here. From my experience, after the HOA fees, taxes and onsite management splits, there is very little profit left on short term rentals unless you get a very good deal on one which puts me right back at square one.

Also, I have questions about LLCs and financing. Most banks won't do conventional loans for an LLC. I literally just got my business license and just sent in my documents to open an LLC. I have been told that any property I buy in that LLC that's in city limits, I also have to get a license in that city if I'm self managing. I plan on self managing until I hit about 10 units. So my questions about LLCs are, should I open LLCs under my main LLC for each property I purchase or is it ok to have 3-4 rental units under the same mail LLC? And if I buy 3 different homes in 3 different cities NMB, Myrtle Beach and Conway, do I need 3 business license? My question I guess is what's the best route to go to protect myself?

And financing, what's the best route to go for my first rental? I have held off on buying a primary residence for myself only because I'd like to have a couple rentals first and I'm trying to keep my debt down so I can make the purchases. What I be better off finding a good deal on a primary residence, fixing it up, living in it a year then renting it out and going from there? I just have a lot of questions as I deal mostly with helping people purchase primaries, not long term rentals. I have dealt with a lot of short term rentals but I'm not interested in those.

Any guidance specific to Horry & Georgetown Counties would be greatly appreciated!!! 

I'm just starting to really look deep into buying my first rental property. I'm a Realtor in Myrtle Beach SC and I'm having trouble finding that good first deal. I have access to the MLS and everything but right now in my market, there aren't a ton of foreclosure or distressed properties and when I run the numbers on anything I find in the MLS, I'm not seeing anything that I would consider a great deal by any means. I want to start with a single family home unless I can find a multi family for a good price. In my area, most multi family properties tend to be in not so great areas so I'm focusing on single family instead.

What are some good ways rental property investors go about finding good deals on homes to where they are getting homes 70-80% of the after repair value? I can't find any sellers that will go low enough for me to make my first purchase unless I was going to use it as a primary residence.

Any tips for really digging to find the right properties?