All Forum Posts by: Mike Shemp

@Emily Du Plessis - We started working with a realtor, but she didn't seem to focus on investment properties and didn't get the sense she understood my questions or why I was asking them.  We are no longer using a realtor, and are looking on our own and at for sale by owner properties.....so unfortunately I don't have any recommendations.  What area are you looking in? We are looking in Southern Shores and Kittyhawk.

@Chris Seveney - I guess it will happen at some point in the future, but with all the businesses, homes, and economy I would think (hope?) that the towns would do what it had to do (beach replenishment, etc.) to prevent it from happening.  What do you think?

Mike

Thank you @Julie Marquez - that is what I have been reading online as well that there doesn't seem to be any tax impacts, but I will definitely check with an attorney.

Mike

Hi All,

If you have a property and you transfer that property into an LLC (for example a Nevada LLC), are there any tax impacts?

For example is that considered a sale, and taxes have to be paid?

The above example assumes the property is paid in full with no mortgage.

Any opinions on this would be appreciated!

Mike

Hi All,

My wife and I are planning on purchasing a vacation home to rent out in the Outer banks next year or late this year.  I noticed many of the homes there have "names", and usually some kind of plague, or sign outside displaying it to add some charm to the house.  

Do you need to trademark research before "naming" your house, or can you pretty much call your house anything you like naming a pet?

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Mike

@Adam Schneider - thanks Adam for the suggestion.  I am going to check them out and HomeAway.  All  m calcs in Excel show it going to be very difficult to have positive cash flow with vacation home, so definitely going to go VRBO route.

@Travis Beal - We are already getting some great ideas and tips from this community.  I will definitely do a "lessons learned" post on everything that went well, and anything that surprised us or didn't go so well when we get farther along with the purchase!

Mike

Thank you for all the replies and information!

@Will Norrell - thank you for the recommendation.  Right now we are in the "gathering contacts" and planning phase so I appreciate it.  I have added them to my list of recommended property managers to check out if we go that route.

@Bill Jacobsen - thank you for the VRBO suggestion.  I told my wife about it, and she said she likes that web site a lot from research she has been doing.  Yes, my Excel sheet is telling me it will be very hard to get positive cash flow in OBX, let alone by adding a property management expense on top of it.

@John Underwood- thank you for this suggestion too.  I haven't heard of them, but am going to look into it.  I am a huge fan of the WIFI connected devices.  We use Nest Cams at our house and they send us notifications via text or email if it detects any movement.  We would definitely want to put in the WIFI thermostats.

@Brad Woodall - Thanks for all the info, and the confirmation on Joe Lamb.  My wife has been going down to OBX for 20+ years.  I had never been down there until I met her.  I went to Corolla for the first time last year when we went to see the lighthouse.  It is really nice up there.  We really liked all the privacy.  We are definitely moving forward with purchasing a house down there, and most likely in the Kittyhawk area, as this is the area my wife grew up vacationing to with her family.  Right now we are in "down payment savings mode", and will hopefully make an offer in fall 2016.  I am hoping that I can give back to this community once we get the property, and will definitely keep you, or anyone else updated on how this all works out for those that are interested in seeing a newbie take the plunge!

Here is a real newbie follow-up question - Do you know if VRBO and Homeaway handle all the rental agreement and North Carolina Vacation Rental Act items with insurance, notifying them, etc? For example do your new renters have to fill out a rental agreement, and does VRBO/Homeaway maintain that documntation? Do repeat renters have to fill out a rental agreement each year even if they repeat?  Any information on this topic would be greatly appreciated on the paperwork involved.  

Mike

Hi All,

My wife and I are looking to purchase a vacation rental property in the Outer Banks.  This will be our very first rental property.  I have read a lot of books on the subject, but had some specific questions about the Outer Banks that I was hoping I could ask here.

The Outer Banks seems to have many property management companies.  Given that we are from NJ and quite a distance away (7 hours), this seems to be the way to go.  Does anyone have any recommendations for one, and do you think this hiring a property management firm make sense, or is it possible to do it from 7 hours away with good local contacts?

NC also has the "Vacation Rental Act".  If we manage the property ourselves, is this something we have to get ever new renter to sign, or include as an addendum to a rental agreement for them to view?  If the house has a strong repeat renter history, do I need to collect these documents from the current owner?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Mike

Thanks for the welcome Michael, Sean, and Wilson!

So much great information and knowledge on this site - looks like I know what I'll be doing in the mornings and evenings for a little bit. :)

Mike

Hi All,

This is my first post.  I found this web site and forum after typing some questions into google about real estate investing.

My wife and I are looking to get into real estate investing, so I've been reading the forums for the last few hours.  Some really great information out there!

I'm sure I'll have more specific questions shortly, but just wanted to drop by and say "hi" and I look forward to contributing to the forum in any way I can.

Mike