All Forum Posts by: Michael Tierney

Chris, I'm guessing you are going through the residential lenders (Jeff Land, etc). If you can qualify, you might try the commercial side of the banks.  That would be Tammie Whitlock at Asheville Savings, Christopher McFatter at Home Trust and Steve Jennings at Carolina Alliance. They are all quite professional.

Unfortunately I'll miss the CREIA meeting this month, but grab me at the one in August and we can talk some more. Good luck!

Hi Robert, that rate is quite a bit higher than what I'm seeing on commercial deals (usually in the low 4% range), probably due to the small loan amount.  Cutting your rate 2% is worth $800/year to you, so probably worth shopping a bit more.  The banks have different loan buckets they are trying to fill, so sometimes one bank might be particularly aggressive if they are behind on writing that type of loan.

Hi Casey,

Like you, I fell in love with Asheville and the mountains of WNC.  I moved to Asheville about a year ago after selling off our rental home business in the Houston area.  The market here is different than Texas.  Land is a lot more valuable due to the steep slopes that can't be built on and the river basins that flood during heavy rains.

The Asheville market is hot.  Unfortunately, prices have been bid up to the point that it is hard to find things that cash flow in Asheville proper.  I've been picking things up south of Asheville in the Arden, Fletcher, and Hendersonville areas that still work.  There is a lot of growth in that area.  I'm finding that a lot of my tenants are commuting to Asheville.  Also, when I've met with Planning folks in the City of Asheville, I've found that a number of them also live south of town.  Seems like a pretty good tell.

Contractors have been a challenge here.  The market is hot, so they have more than enough work to go around.  Don't assume prices and timing will be the same as what you are used to - really need to dig in to be sure you can get things done for the price and in the time frame you need.

I joined the local CREIA group and they have been a big help steering me towards local vendors that support the real estate community here. Definitely recommend joining. No point interviewing a bunch of Attorneys, Accountants, etc. - just piggy back on the work others have already done.  Also a good place to explore various market niches. They have folks that specialize in fix and flip, single family rentals, mobile home parks, short term rentals, multi family, public storage, etc. You may find yourself moving to a niche you had not thought of previously.

Good luck and welcome!

My understanding is that you must replace the full amount of the debt AND the equity based on your selling price. So if you sell a property for 200k, buying a duplex for $85,000 will not work. You will need to buy something that is more expensive than what you sell. I'd recommend contacting a good 1031 intermediary and see if they can explain the process. Also recommend meeting with your Accountant and Attorney for your first 1031 just to be sure that everybody is on the same page.

Welcome to Asheville. I moved here about 9 months ago and strongly recommend joining the local CREIA  group. They have been a big help to me.

The Asheville market is quite hot, particularly in the under $300k range.  Lots of people chasing few deals and Contractors with more business than they can handle. And that is during the winter months...

I focus more on multi-family, so probably not a lot  I can offer you, but there are some pretty active flippers in CREIA that you probably want to speak with.

Good Luck and welcome!

I don't have my inspector come out, but I have my regular contractors give the property a quick review. When my plumber is installing new fixtures, I'll have him check the toilets, water heaters, etc. same thing with my electrician, Hvac guy, etc. we don't catch everything, but it gives me a lot of confidence when negotiating with buyers. Stuff that slips through is usually pretty small stuff.

I'm over in Kingwood and have used Terry Smith for my 11 rentals. He is local here in Houston.

Hey y'all. Hung up the Corporate spurs and getting ready for the next chapter of our lives in Western North Carolina. That means disposing of our rentals here in North Houston and starting over. So far, four rentals sold, one in rehab mode and seven with tenants that won't be renewed. Market is very strong in the 150-200k range here in Houston, so been easy to sell so far. We'll need to see what drop in oil prices does to market, but lower end holding up so far. Am trying to get educated on Asheville market. Am chatting with a realtor, but would like to network with some investors on good contractors and tips about local conditions. From a thousand miles away it looks like UNC Asheville and West Asheville look like good sub markets, but appreciate direction from any local knowledgeable folks. Expect to be in Asheville permanently this summer. Might start by purchasing and living in first rental while getting sorted and finding permanent home. Any Asheville folks here?