All Forum Posts by: Stephen K.

@Patricia Taveras awesome info, really appreciate it!

Hey All!

Been missing in action here for some time - I've been doing a lot of work on our house we bought 2 years ago. We have gotten to the point where we are "busting at the seams" and looking to move into a larger house next year as our family has grown. Originally I was thinking about selling, however, lately I've been thinking about keeping and renting and really leaning towards making it an AirBNB if its a viable option in this area. Mauldin City Center appears to be in the final stages of finalizing and I'd really hate to sell the house just before our area appreciates significantly due to this new development happening nearby. We have pumped at least 20K in renovations into this house, a lot of money going into things like new water supply lines, a lot of crawlspace work, new insulation, etc. that should help a lot with keeping the CapEx cost down. A lot of the furniture, appliances, kitchenware, etc. we could leave here and buy all new on the next house as we'd be looking to get new furniture anyway, so that would mean really just buying some bedroom furniture and mattresses.

The estimated numbers I get from AirDNA and AirBNB look good, but my question really is are they even close to accurate?  In an area like Mauldin being a suburb 15 minutes from DT Greenville, is an AirBNB a viable option?  Also, are there any other expenses I should take into consideration for instance replacing the chain link fence with a privacy fence in the back yard?

@Jon Hill Love the thread! We share at least 1 goal. I got a tall order for 2020 and setting the bar very high for myself! My 2020 goals are as follows:

1. Read/listen to 52 books

2. Lose 50 pounds (from 235 to 185)

3. Get my Real Estate license and become a part-time Realtor (already enrolled in the courses)

4. House improvements in prep to sell in 2021 and have enough money from sale to buy both a larger house for my family and our first investment property

5. Take and pass all pre-req classes so that I can enroll in a Engineering program PT while I work FT.

6. To piggyback off #3 & #5, sell enough houses to fund that education

7. Cultivate love and positivity for both myself and my family

8. Pay off all our consumer debt

9. Get a promotion at work

10.  Find a mentor

Will be fun to come back towards the end of the year and see what all I was able to accomplish! Putting in a reminder for December 31st to revisit my post!

@Bryan Beal did you ever find one?

@Joseph Rios did you end up getting your license? How is it going so far?

Thanks!  I wanted to make it out to the meetup but I had family obligations that came up that conflicted with this time.  Maybe next time!  I'm glad you pointed out the CREIA, I've been meaning to become a member.  What is your experience so far with occupancy?  Has it been about 50% or above?  Based off the estimations that AirBNB gave us, it looks like it'd be about $100 more a month than a long term was.  Not sure if that is a super conservative number they provide or not.  Based off a 50% occupancy rate which seems to be about the average on AirBNB as a whole?  

@Michael Ealy

I love your post as I always think big. Very interested in going your same path as you and managing hotels! I’ve listened to a-lot of biggerpockets podcast and read quite a few books on the subject (and prowl these forums often). I see you say its all about the KNOW-WHO, but I think my struggle is everywhere I look the suggestion by-and-large when finding partners and mentors is to add value. The problem I am having (and I think others posting this same type of question) is I don’t really feel I have much if any value to add being a newbie... Like another has mentioned I have a family and a full-time job and certainly don’t have enough cash to be the funder of the deal. With no experience but a burning desire to get into Real Estate, what would you suggest people like me do to find partners and mentors and add enough value where they’d be willing to take you under their wing? Thank you again for the post, it was very motivational!

Hey all, its been a while but I have been diving deep into the BiggerPockets podcast again and re-reading the REI books I've bought now that my wife and I are in a better position to begin planning out our investment roadmap! A bit of background before the questions. My wife and I bought a house in Mauldin in Feb in what I'd say is a C, maybe C+ area (still having a hard time rating areas). It needed a little bit of work but was in great shape for a house built in 1965. I will say, it seems like a very popular area as our Agent told us at closing that he heard there were some 4 cash offers on our house that came in just after we got the house under contract. We've put quite a bit of money and sweat equity into the house: new water supply lines from water meter on, blown in additional insulation, new water heater, installed a dishwasher and garbage disposal (neither existed previously), converted the den into an additional bedroom, and done some various things to bring the house up to modern times and add additional value. We plan on having a patio poured and doing a slight remodel to bathroom as well. It's a 3BR 1BA. We just learned that we will be welcoming our 2nd child next year, and I'd like to get something bigger while keeping the house as a rental property. Considering doing either a cash-out refi or a HELOC (if anyone has an opinion on which way to go suggestions are more than welcome!), renting out our current property, and buying a larger home (that will, ideally, need work so we can value add and pull the money out when we are ready to get a 3rd property).

There are quite a few rental properties both on our street and the 2 streets surrounding ours and I am thinking about going down the rental path so we can get started.  I ran the cash flow numbers based off other similar rentals in the area and I'm coming up with 100-150/month.  Mauldin has announced a city center within walking distance of the house, so if that goes through I'd hope our property value increases and hopefully with that rental rates.  I'm looking at the possibility of doing AirBNB instead with the hope of increasing the cash flow at least at the start to  help cover any surprise expenses that come up (and not have to dip into our savings), but not sure how well it would perform being in Mauldin?  The house itself is in a great location, with easy access to Woodruff road, Laurens road, and 385.

Questions:  Does anyone have AirBNB (and homeaway, etc) properties in class C areas and how well do they perform?  To piggyback on that, how well do AirBNB properties do in areas that are close to a city that isn't necessarily a tourist attraction area and not close to big employers in the area?  If AirBNB does not work out and being in a very competitive market like Greenville where it seems the 1% rule does not exist, is it worth keeping a property that cash flows 100-150 a month?  My worry is we get 1 years worth of rent and then have to deal with turnover or eviction and end up losing money.  We are in this for the long haul and would love to hear your experiences and suggestions here!

@Mike Storey thanks Mike! I thought I had replied to you but evidently did not. We ended up buying a small house in downtown Mauldin and have been fixing it up while living here and have started looking fir the next property when For when we can cash out refi in March. Hoping to stay near Mauldin but man prices still climbing in the Greenville area so might have to open up to those areas for strictly investment properties after we can find a bigger house here. Son’s school is down the street from us now and my work office is in downtown Greenville. Really hoping I can find a deal in Mauldin next year though

Thanks for this thread!  I've been keeping an eye on Clemson, Anderson, and Spartanburg at the moment as it seems the Greenville area is quickly pricing us out of owning anything in the area.   I'd really like to do a househack multifamily for our first property but it seems there are slim pickings around here, and many are priced too high to even make it worth my time.  The wholesaler I get listings from appears to only dabble with properties that need some serious work, so I guess I'll have to look around for one that offers properties that need less work.