All Forum Posts by: Matthew Kostelic

Hey Michelle, I'm also a W-S native here focused on BRRRR and short-term rentals. I started in 2020 and have 5 doors currently, so also pretty new to everything but have successfully completed 3 BRRRRs keeping no money in the properties. One thing that helped me a ton for the first two rehab's was paying for an official inspection (before or after closing) and walking the house with the inspector. I was lucky to find one I trusted who did my primary residence and was super thorough, I'd be happy to share his info if you'd like. I outlined the vision I had for the different units (2 longer term rentals and 1 STR) and asked him to explain everything he looked for during an inspection. He was also a GC and home builder for 20 years, so it was helpful to get insight into potential problems throughout the home from that lens. Hope that helps, feel free to reach out directly if you'd like. Good luck!

July 16 @6pm at Incendiary brewery 

Sounds good, marked on my calendar 

Definitely in for this idea. Incendiary downtown would be a good spot anytime, they have outdoor seating as well. 

Out of curiosity, what about Winston Salem appeals to you? 

Hey Chris,

Great post, we’re in a very similar place with RE investing. I’m also a newer investor and Winston Salem native. I’ve got 1 property w/ 2 doors and am closing on a 3rd with a partner soon. Good luck with your goals, I’m sure writing everything out was very helpful in organizing your thoughts. Reach out if you ever want to chat about RE or bounce ideas off each other. 

I’ve been suffering from a fear of not knowing enough about real estate that’s been holding me back from taking action. This opportunity has seemed like the best option to me and I know at some point a leap of faith is required. I would hold this long term if it cash flows the way it should. My main question would be what do I need to do differently in a wholesaled property than a traditional buy through a realtor

Going to sign contract from a wholesaler that seems very trustworthy to me.

The property costs $75k.

2 separate houses on the lot (3/1 & 2/1) that bring in $1100/mo combined.  

The 3/1 is newly renovated and currently rented, however 2/1 is dilapidated but renters have been there 4+ years.

Tax Value on the property is $67k, and it could prob appraise for $85-90k w/o any work, allowing me to BRRRR it without doing the renovation part.

My LLC is setup with a bank account, and I have a line of credit w/ a local bank allowing me to purchase without any $ down.

I'm very new to investing and this would be my first property.  Are there any due diligence absolute must-do's before signing the contract w/ the wholesaler? Thanks for any advice!

First post here, and noob in the game of real estate investing.  I've been reading and learning on here quite a bit, and decided to take action recently on a rental property in Columbia, SC.  I was actually supposed to close this coming Friday (5/31/19) on the home, until I received the closing disclosure yesterday from the bank with an estimated monthly payment that was WAY higher than what we anticipated ($1100 vs $800-850).  The property rents for $1400 with tenants signed to a lease currently.  

The reason for the disparity:  property taxes.  We estimated property tax based on the previous years taxes on Zillow (roughly $1150 on a $155,000 home), and the bank used that in their initial disclosure.  However, when we got the updated disclosure this week, the property taxes were estimated at $4600, and we had no idea why (remember I'm a noob).  After researching it a bit, there is a significant different in the tax assessment ratio & millage rate between owner-occupied and rental properties.  In SC specifically, it equates to ~1.2% for owner-occupied vs 3.4% for rental properties.  

Obviously this threw us for a loop and made the deal unattractive moving forward.  Being new to this realm, is this something I should've known from the beginning?  Should my realtor have made mention of this knowing we were investors looking for investment properties?  Should the bank have run the tax estimate well in advance and let us know before the week of closing?  

Moving forward, are most states similar to this in that they have different assessment ratios and millage rates for owner-occupied vs rental properties?  Are there any loopholes worth exploring to take advantage of an owner-occupied classification for the lower taxes?

Thanks in advance for any replies!