All Forum Posts by: Laura Shinkle

Hi @William Stewart, love the story. Honestly, it takes a special kind of owner to be ok with seller financing. I've honestly never come across it for a property that is listed on the MLS, so your best bet would be FSBO and perhaps CL as you did previously. Definitely be careful with CL though, as scammers and hackers abound on there. Just like the first one, it'll take a lot of searching and a little bit of luck. Just my two cents! Good luck

Hi @Tehane Gallimore, good luck with the classes! It's a tough business to transition into, especially with a family. My best advice would be to save, save, save. Getting business up and running takes time, no matter how you spin it. Time to develop relationships with clients and time to show homes and time to learn. You won't really know your full potential until you jump all the way in. If your family depends on your income paycheck to paycheck, the only way you'll feel secure enough to jump in is if you have a healthy savings (think 3-6 months worth of living expenses). Unless, of course, you have a big sphere of people who you know that are just waiting for you to get your license before they buy/sell their home. 

As far as firms, stay away from the larger firms if you don't want a structured time for training. Smaller, boutique firms may offer more flexibility with that and a more hands on approach. However a lot of boutique firms don't do training at all as they're geared to agents who already have experience and don't need training. If your day job is flexible, would it not be feasible to be in a class for 3 hours in a morning maybe once or twice a week? For training, Keller Williams is the best I found but their initial training courses are set days. I don't personally know of any firms up in that area that do that, but just give them all a call and talk to the owner/BIC. You never know! I'd be happy to chat more about it after you've passed your test and start looking :) Good luck!

@Doniel Winter do I understand that correctly to be saying that you would need that permit to rent out a room within your home on AirBnb? We aren't talking about a specific investment property separate from your own personal residence. And that is only allowed within certain zoning?

@Chris Reynolds congrats on coming this far! How soon are you planning on retiring?

With regards to strategy, fix/flips and buy/holds are two very different strategies with different endgames. What's your goal with the investing? Do you want the monthly cash flow, or are you more interested in the equity gain with flips? I'm not sure I'd consider 5 years a flip, that's a very slow renovation and sounds like more of a labor of love than an investment strategy. Have you considered combining the two, buying a semi distressed property, fixing up and then renting? 

I agree with the previous comments that the rental market is strong, the Asheville region's economy is doing well. @Rodrigo Afanador and @Josh Buchanan what are your thoughts on the AirBnb route in the area? Any regulations hindering those types of rentals?

My recommendation would be to first narrow down what your goal is and what strategy you'd like to employ to get there! That focus will help you narrow down the properties and help you find one easier when the time comes. Good luck!!

@Christopher Holba no problem, happy to help. As far as being prepared for the NC state exam with just FL experience/testing, no. But you can buy books/study guides for NC specific laws that would help prepare you for the test. I think you would have a lot less to learn coming from a real estate background so it wouldn't be as challenging a transition. That being said, I have not done real estate in Florida so I'm not sure how their laws translate. 

As far as a firm taking you for half the year, yes they totally would! Real estate firms vary greatly as far a niches and agent productivity. Some firms may not be ok with it or have a certain amount that you need to sell per month. But there are a lot of agents out there that do it part time, and some that just hang a license with a firm so they can stay compliant with laws and collect referral bonuses. I personally work with Keller Williams Realty which is big on supporting the agent and educating agents on running a business and being successful. Other firms will let you hang your license for a flat fee per month and just charge a certain amount per closing that you bring. It all depends on their business model. I'd recommend just getting out there, talking to different firms and seeing what works for you! (And it's hard, but try to look past the sales pitch and see what they're really offering, maybe talk to a few agents that work there. That can be enlightening) And congrats on your career thus far!!

Hope that helps,

Hi @Christopher Holba, I love the clear goals that you've set for yourself. As a NC licensee, I'll tell you that you do have to sit in a classroom for 75 hours and there is no way around that. There are places that will do weekend classes if that helps at all. 

Getting licensed in a different state and then getting an out of state license for NC is a possibility. If you're active and in good standing for 3 months in another state, you can waive the pre-licensing portion and either take the state test (it's tough!) or do the 3 post-licensing classes within the following 18 months which sounds like would be possible for you. Something to look into. Check out the guidelines HERE.

That being said, you could also focus on the passive income goal, which being a FL agent may help you with. Getting that basis of knowledge, albeit a different state, is always helpful, plus you may find some good opportunities down there before you move up to NC. 

Can I ask why you intend to get your license? Is the goal knowledge, a new career, access...?

@Victoria Coleman that is definitely an interesting strategy, the first mention I've heard. I'd be interested to see where that goes! I was under the weather for this last meetup but hopefully will be able to attend the next. 

Hi @Victoria Coleman welcome to Charlotte and to BP! I like that you're willing to adjust your strategy the more you learn. There are a million ways to invest and not one blanket approach for everyone and every market. You'll find multifamily properties in Charlotte a challenging thing to find. They really don't exist much here, at least not your traditional multifamily that you're thinking of. Hopefully we will get a chance to meet at a meetup soon! What part of Charlotte are you in now?

@William Boeklen you're welcome! It took me a while to find it too. There's just so much info on the site that navigating it can be a bit challenging.

Hi @Barbara Harrison, just curious where you ended up! Have you moved forward with the Clemmons area?