All Forum Posts by: Joe Dowdell

@Joe Dowdell - double down on @Adrian Stamer's comments.  There's not a ton of activity in Richmond and you're competing with NYC private equity companies in the B-C neighborhoods. One firm just bought up all of Chamberlayne Ave.  

Prices are higher than value at the moment.  I know because I just sold my last MF (38 Units on Chamberlayne).  I bought for $34K/door and sold for $39K/door, but not without dumping a ton of money into it to increase the value and attempt to cash flow.

Single families are also a lot more expensive than they used to be when foreclosures were prevalent, but there's still more margin there in my opinion than in MF.  That said I restricted my SF buys to Henrico County.

Welcome to BP and good luck dealing!

Welcome to BP, @Joe Dowdell. I live down in Midlothian, just south of Henrico, and am also starting my investing journey down here. I've been told there are still deals to be had in this market, but haven't found many myself. I am finding that Spring isn't really the time to be finding deals, as people are just getting their houses on the market, etc. I think I'm looking toward late spring early summer, after things have been sitting on the market for 60-90 days. I've been SOL in looking for Multi-s. Again, I've been told that they are out there pre-listing if you know the right people and get your offer in quick, but we're waiting for our financing to get squared away before we start waving cash around.

@Stacy E., I've been to both the Richmond REIA and the Richmond RING, and they're both great. At the REIA I met more realtors and wholesalers, while at the RING I met more investors. So which one is better really depends on what you're looking for. Both have pretty extensive dealmaking sessions and great information sessions. The RING Meeting I went to was at a bar, so that was a bonus there. Admission came with a drink ticket. :-) Hope to meet you out there one of these days.

@Joe Dowdell,

Welcome to RE! I agree with the prior comments, the only real duplexes now in Northside, and that's an area that is seeing improvement, but is not a very desirable area at the moment IMO. Could you look for a very large SFH, and turn it into a duplex? Richmond has a lot of huge houses that need full renovations-- maybe convert it while you do it? Also, try checking out Colonial Heights/Chesterfield/Hopewell, there are a lot of good buys there too! I mainly do Petersburg, but that's not for an out of state investment IMO because the area can be good/bad very quickly.

Feel free to reach out if you need any contractor recommendations when you buy! 

Find a deal on a multi family in Richmond on the market will be rather difficult. Anything priced remotely decently is under contract within a day or two. As someone said above, most of the properties sitting are in places you don't want to be with mediocre returns

Good luck, I'd recommend a more creative approach

@Joe Dowdell

From my brief REI experience here in RVA, there is a small inventory of multi families on the market at any given time. Mostly duplexes with the occasional 3-4plex in the northside area. Most of them need major renovations so be prepared with capital for that. Northside is in a early revitalization period, alot of SF homes being flipped.

 I have seen a few properties that looked close to turn key but they were listed for retail and the current rent didn't support listing price. I think a few of the MF are being sold by old investors looking for a sucked to pay top dollar.

I myself would like to find a nice MF but maybe I'm being to picky. Hope this helps and welcome to BP!

Hey @Joe Dowdell welcome to the party!

I had the same questions coming on BP that you have, and I wanted immediate answers and my posts to blow up with advice and tips. It didn't happen. But this is a good-thing…It makes you try harder and put YOURSELF out there, and make connections that way. Through BP I have connected with 2 local REIA groups out there, and have started networking. your network is your net worth.

I have also found that BP loves specific questions, very few people, (or at least the people we want to hear advice/insight from anyway) are pretty busy and aren't looking to answer a hundred questions for one person, when they could answer 100 people's questions. 

Just keep reading, listen to the podcasts if you haven't started already(SO motivating and filled with a wealth of applicable information) thanks @Joshua Dorkin and @Brandon Turner. I listen to them in the car, when I'm at home, at the gym, etc. Keeps your mind on it figuring out how the hell you are going to go about this.

Anyway, just my two cents.

Good luck and God bless!

Thanks William, appreciate the advice. I actually live in NYC so joining the local REIA wouldn't work for me. I have family in Richmond, VA and St. Petersburg/Gulfport, FL which is why I'm interested in those areas. I will keep looking through the forum to see if I can find anything on these two areas but once again, thank you for the response. 

Best of luck to you as well. 

Joe

Not local, but good luck, @Joe Dowdell. Way to take the plunge and go pro!