All Forum Posts by: Laura Shinkle

@Lisa Smith I love the strategy. I think it's a great one for people just starting out. It's an easy way to build cash quickly when you live for free or are even paid to live there. Southpark/Plaza are great locations, each offer different things. They are similar price points, although Southpark is on average probably higher than Plaza Midwood. 

One other thing to think about with the lending. If you do go 100% financing, that interest rate will most likely be higher than with a down payment option. If you don't have cash to start out, it's certainly amazing and gets you started. I wouldn't recommend it, though, if you have options. Just my two cents!

Hi @Lisa Smith welcome to Charlotte! It's a great city, lots of growth, young professionals and plenty to keep you entertained! My husband is actually in HR as well! Small world.

As I'm sure you've noticed, there's a ton of different ways to invest and tons of financing options. The trick is to narrow it down to what works with your finances, goals and comfort level. The most important thing is to start!

What area of Charlotte are you looking at for investing/living?

@Levi Bennett those are some good points. Another aspect of FL getting hit harder in the recent crash was I imagine a lot of those homes are second homes to snowbirds...Up north in the summer and south for the winter. When the crisis hit and you have to give up one home, it isn't going to be your primary. Florida also has a lot of investor owned property, so same conditions apply.  

@Nicolas Lovely gotcha! Yes, completely agree with you and hopefully that's a one time per property, max, situation! lol

Hi @Zach Crews welcome to BP! You've got to start somewhere, so dive in! Have you thought about what your strategy might be as far as what kind of property you're looking for. The Charlotte market is great, but definitely great for some types of properties over others.

There are quite a few meetups in the Charlotte area that @chris t hosts every month. Check them out!

@Nicolas Lovely there is always that risk with an HOA, whether the fees are small starting out or not. And special assessments are always a risk, whether the fee is low or not. Looking at what the HOA pays for and doesn't pay for as well as amenities in the community should give you a good idea of what a typical monthly fee should be and go from there. Every property is different.

Just for clarification, what exactly is the fair bit of assistance that you would get from your insurance policy? If the HVAC or water heater breaks, your landlord's policy won't help with any of that. Sure, if a tree falls on the roof, that should kick in. But general maintenance of the property wouldn't be covered by insurance, and an HOA in a condo would do exterior maintenance including landscaping.

Bottom line there are pros and cons for both, and every investor is different as far as what they're looking for and how they want to invest. There's a million ways and as long as the numbers make sense, go for it. 

@Jonathan Breton Yes I worked full time as well while I was taking the course. Totally doable if you stay focused on your goal. I'd also recommend saving up some money for living expenses if you're planning on jumping in with both feet straight into real estate. I'm happy to hop on a call with you or meet up if that helps.

@Mindy Jensen that makes sense, it's just the wrong forum. Understood!

with condo HOA fees, I've found that as long as they are below the $200-ish a month threshold, it still makes sense as an investment. Once you get above that it starts to get iffy

@Jonathan Breton best of luck! It's been a while since I was in school, but from what I remember here are my top two pieces of advice:

1. Pay attention in class and don't zone out during the lecture. A lot of this stuff is a completely new concept, so my brain was hurting after a few classes (I took my classes on the weekends, 9-5 so it was a long day). You definitely need to know it for the test so listen to what the instructor is emphasizing and if you get those concepts down, you should be good to go. Some of it is just straight memorization.

2. Don't miss any of the hours in class. You're only allowed a certain amount of time anyway, but if you miss a key point, it's hard to catch up. There's a lot of material in that short amount of time. 

I went to Superior because they had the best passing rates for schools in the area. 

I don't know that being an unlicensed assistant would help all that much. As an agent, that would limit greatly what you could do for me. It would most likely be running signs and lockboxes, picking up checks, etc so I don't think it would be as much of a learning experience as you'd think. 

If you're truly wanting sales to be your focus, I'd start with being on a team. Like someone else said, interview a bunch of firms and see where you may be a good fit. But starting out, you don't make money for a while unless you have a pool of buyers and sellers waiting for you to get your license. Joining a team will accelerate your learning and the support is good to have. You give up more of your commission, but as long as you see the value in that, it's worth it in my opinion. You can always reevaluate when you've got your feet under you and feel confident on your own. 

As far as firms that might be best, Keller Williams has the best training that I've seen that teaches you how to actually run your business and scale it to be successful, not just 'how do I sell real estate'. 

#justmytwocents

@Satinder Singh I like the strategy. I think the part of SC you want to invest in depends on what return you want and what strategy you want. ie long term rentals or airbnb. Charleston has a ton of Airbnbs which would give you a higher cash flow. Especially if you want higher cash flow to get started and then acquire some long term ones to even out risk. I'm not sure what the zoning restrictions are or if there even are any. Something to chat about with an agent there if that's something you're interested in. 

With the coast, I'm sure they would require some sort of hurricane insurance. That coastline can get hit pretty hard during the hurricane season. 

As far as long term rentals go, there are a lot of good spots. Have you looked into Columbia?

I personally work in the Charlotte area, including the outskirts in SC but not anywhere near the coast so I won't be much help personally. I could connect you with someone if you'd like though