All Forum Posts by: Mitch Davidson

Happy to help, @JJL Garner. I hope you end up buying here. We'll bounce back fast, and we need people like you. The committees have never said they'll require a specific form of evidence to show that you've rented the place for at least a couple of nights. And I'm sure that's because some people direct book, others use Airbnb, etc. So I would buy the home and rent it for a couple of days, and then show the payment receive if you end up not being ready to launch and generate other bookings before the application window opens and closes.

I'll direct message you my phone number. I'm happy to help in any other way that I can. For example, intro's to people here that can help you with certain specialties, planning, feedback on neighborhoods, financing of course, etc.

@JJL Garner. It's hard to guess how soon regulations will become effective. From the beginning of the discussions though Buncombe County has said that the regulations will only apply to STR owners who apply for a permit after the application window closes, meaning that you should have nothing to worry about if you buy soon enough and then apply for the grandfathering during the window of opportunity. That window of course has not yet opened due to the fact that the new plan is not finalized. They've also said that you'll need to show something to prove that you've had at least one 2+ day guest stay in the last 6 months (to be grandfathered in), and recently have assured that your permit will be transferable should you sell the home.

A special committee was formed last year, and was to hold 6 non-public meetings and then send their finalized recommendations to the commissioners in November. Only 3 of the 6 meetings have happened though. You can watch the meetings at this link: 

https://engage.buncombecounty.org/d1035 I haven't watched the videos myself.

It's hard to predict where things will go now that we've lost thousands of housing units, many of which were in the most affordable bracket. Surely some will argue for more restrictions while others will argue we need less impediments to tourism.

So, if you're going to buy I would buy soon. Otherwise it might be better to look at bordering counties, such as Madison, Henderson, Haywood, etc. Happy to discuss more if you want to call me.

My thoughts are, "nope." Sometimes vendors get short-sighted and need to be reminded to not be ridiculous. 

@Cole Bossert I think @Sarah Kensinger and others have touched on the biggest qualities, especially communication. Availability and a whatever-it-takes-whenever mindset is critical too. I'm not saying you'll be working a lot all the time, but you'll regularly have late-night questions from people checking in, for example. That doesn't stress some of us out at all, but for others it's a headache. 

And your communications need to be very wise, meaning they can't come across the wrong way regarding tone, even when you're aggravated. And they need to be tailored to what you can pick up about the recipient regarding their culture and all. For example, if they don't use "hey" or "ya'll" you shouldn't either. Meaning, you have to always be selling, always doing your best for a 5 star review. You also have to be super detail-oriented, focused on continuous improvement regarding the property and guest experience, very in-touch with what it's like to be a guest at the property (and a cleaner of it as well), and focused on technological tools and opportunities. 

Someone mentioned licensing above. Most people call their services "cohosting" to distance themselves from what would normally require a real estate license. This can be a sensitive topic, as many cohosts opt to not be licensed, and as some agents and PM's think the law requires a license for cohosting. I recommend doing your homework on the topic. 

Regarding getting started, I recommend finding an STR owner who's overwhelmed or just worn out with managing their property, and perhaps who's also not using a dynamic pricing tool, and then offering to manage it for a very small cost. This will provide you experience, a story to tell, and the credibility needed for adding additional clients.

I'm happy to discuss more. And I'm happy to host you at one of our Asheville BP meetups sometime soon. We have two per month, which will be added to the events section of "Bigger Pockets AVL Meetup" on Meetup.com later today.

@John Dallas Welcome to WNC. I would consider the cost of extracting your equity from the FL property by sale and then compare that to pulling equity by way of a cashout refinance. I don't say that to be self-serving, being a lender. There's also the fact that you'll stop growing equity there, when you could instead access most of the equity and keep growing wealth through the home. I saw your comments about not wanting to manage properties in two states, but perhaps you can find a great PM for the FL home.

Regarding the numbers you mentioned above, it very much depends on the specific location. I would highly recommend you create a Market Report in PriceLabs to see how similar properties nearby are actually performing. It's a $10/mo subscription that you can turn off after starting it, meaning you'll have 30 days to play with it. You'll likely find it easy to find people who will tell you what you want to hear, but you really need hard facts not speculation.

But for some speculation, if you're talking about the Nantahala River or Little Tennessee, sure I think you might be able to do $22K/yr, but not much more, unless perhaps the places are uniquely styled. Down around those areas you'll be swimming in a sea of cabin competition, so a Scandinavian style or something otherwise standout might be the only path to making more. 

That said, I personally don't think $22K/yr gross x 6 separate dwellings are good numbers for an $800,000 investment, not to mention costs for furnishings and such. Perhaps the numbers will turn out to be much better, but I'd be careful to not let your personal love for the area lure you into an investment that you might someday loathe due to ill performance coupled with management headaches. And I would perhaps instead start with one to make sure it's going to work well.

On another note, living near the Swannanoa River myself, your comments about building cabins on a river give me pause. Quite a few investors just lost a ton of wealth here, so be careful about nearness to a river, elevation, etc. And be sure your insurance costs won't be insane.

Finally, if you're near Asheville at times we have two BP meetups per month here. We'd love to hear more about your ideas, share some others, and help in any way that we can. I can add you to our events list if you DM me your email address.

Hope this helps.

@Agustin Conti Are you sure you'll be able to sell it and recoup your spend? We have a tons of lots around here like the one you described, many of which can be bought for cheap and are not listed because there are just barely any buyers for such. If you're sure the land will appreciate on it's own, I don't see any harm in going for it, unless of course your money can perform better elsewhere, which it probably can. Also, beware that building in a location like that can be a very long process depending on where you're talking about. For example, if you're talking about areas south of Waynesville, plan for the entire process to run at least 2 years.

@Jonathan Bremner Happy to talk about investing over here in WNC sometime if you like, to make intros that might be helpful, and to host you at one of our monthly BP meetups in Asheville.

@Sebastian Albors. I live in Asheville as well, and am happy to help you kick around strategies. Also we have two great BP meetups per month here that you might find really valuable. For me they've been a great source of ideas, resources, energy, and comradery. If you DM me your email address I'll get you added to our events email list.

Regarding the options you listed, I think #1 is best. You can get into a home for little or even nothing down, perhaps add some value by renovation, then hop to a new primary residence in a year with little or nothing down, and repeat. And you'll have the best rate/points options with a primary residence.

Option #2 is great, especially if you're willing to move into one of the units (because the down payment minimum is just 5% or 3.5% depending on program), but as you mentioned it's really tough here to find small multifamily here. And the few options that arise are very overpriced due to scarcity. That being said, you can find a home that can function as a duplex. Unlike true multifamily, meaning the county or city has the property categorized as multifamily, you can't use potential rental income from the additional units to help you qualify (if the home is single family per the appraisal, that is). You can convert the property to MF after acquiring it though. And even it's SF when you purchase it, again because it's not 100% MF including the county/city classification, you can use rental income from both units to help you qualify for future investments.

Option #3 is something to use only when you're not willing or able to move into the property. You'll need to put 20% down for one thing. Technically, Conventional allows 15% down but you end up incurring a hefty hit to your rate/points options when you put down less than 20%, which makes causes most people opt to put 20% down. Also, compared to a traditional loan (i.e., conventional, FHA, etc.) for a primary residence your rate/points options are going to be higher for an investment. The same is so if the home is classified as a second home. Count on the rate to be at least 1% higher than where you'd be for a primary residence, and to maybe even cost a little in points depending on the program, your credit scores, etc.

Happy to help you think on this more if you want to setup a call.

Hi @Benjamin Finney. Welcome to the community. We have two BP investor meetups here in Asheville every month. For December, we're meeting at 6PM tomorrow (12/4) at RAD Brewing, and at 9AM next Wednesday (12/11) at The Rhu (upstairs). Our meetups are casual, conversational, and rather roundtable in approach. No RSVP is required, but you can RSVP on Meetup.com if you like. 

@Richard White I'll send you contact info for two local PM lenders that might be a good fit. Welcome to Asheville. And thanks for NOT canceling your plans due to the disaster we've suffered lately. We need folks like you more than ever.