All Forum Posts by: Matt W.

Wow, great stuff! I was just driving past the KMart in Wilmington and thought "I wish that guy on BP would buy this eyesore!" Sounds like a great way to capitalize on the downturn of big box retail combined with the Americans' hoarding tendencies. 

I'll try to make it to the commercial meet up.  I currently only have a few rentals but dream of stepping up to commercial!

@Clint Harris

Sounds cool, are you buying the K Mart on college road?

@Margaret Loescher

Have you tried marketing to travel nurses? Or even to outage workers who work at the Brunswick nuclear plant across the river? That’s what I used to do for work and once Airbnb was invented it made life so much better than staying in a roach motel.

Hello Beautiful People, 

I need some advice...the house in question was my first rental property, a small class C 3/2 SFH, purchased 2 years ago for $155k with 20% down. Today similar houses on the street are selling for 220-225K. It is currently rented for $1400/mo and PITI is $840. It's a decent money maker but I think I could use the equity better if I sell and trade up. If I sold for 220, after fees and paying off the existing mortgage I would be left with @83K. Should I

A: put all the money down for 20% on a nice (class A) 400k house that would cash flow more in absolute terms but less in a CoC basis.

B: put all/most of the money down on a decent (class B) 250k starter home and have great cash flow. This is 32% down, I'm thinking this might b a good compromise of cashflow, headaches and appreciation.

C: come up with about $10k cash out of pocket to buy two 220k houses on the same block, basically doubling what I already have but my cash flow will be a little less per unit because I have a bigger mortgage. 

I think any option in the long term will be a net benefit, but I'm not sure if my thinking is straight about each choice. 

Thanks for any input. 

Hey y’all,

Congrats on making the deal work! If anyone is looking for their first or next Airbnb, I’m just finishing a reno in the Echo Farms neighborhood with a nice in ground pool. 5 minutes from the hospital so would be good for nurses too. 4/2 2100 sqft. DM if interested.

@Taylor L.

True, google maps is pretty outdated, but my county assessor website updates satellite images every year. I don’t know who they contract with to get up to date pictures. So it would be dependent on good images.

I don't know if this already exists, if not someone tech savvy please invent it! The idea is a computer program that searches satellite images for signs of neglected properties.  Signs like tarps on roofs, black/brown pools, and cars parked all over the yard.  The pool especially is a dead giveaway that a house is abandoned, in my experience. 

My county has very up to date aerial images. I think a computer could scan millions of images each day and spit out a list of potentially distressed properties. 

I'm not that knowledgable about programming, but this seems pretty doable.  If you've ever watched Silicon Valley, it's like Jin Yang's "Hotdog" app.

Not providing the property address until you sign some form. Shows they a bush league and don’t trust their original contract with the seller but expect whatever they want you to sign will prevent you from stealing the deal.

Anywhere a “pit mom” goes neck tattoos, meth smoke and DSS are never far behind! Don’t reject her, just choose someone else.