All Forum Posts by: Pat S.

John,

Which WNC county or city is it in? 

Pat

Dan,

One other cautionary note on Asheville.  The City Council is struggling with a way to deal with the vacation rental issues inside the city limit.  Earlier this year they increased fines for folks caught operating vacation rentals with-in city limits (currently not allowed, but done all the time) and eased some restrictions for folks who just rent a room within their primary residence (referred to as homestays). Some local investors who were fined and shut down, have filed a law suite against the city.

Several communities around the city are watching the issue closely to see what Asheville does and them may adopt that policy. (Woodfin is one example just north of the city limits)

The county (Buncombe) doesn't have a prohibition on this use currently, but HOAs may have a restriction too.

So if you do start looking, make sure you team (agent, lawyer, property manager) understand your intent and advise you appropriately of any risks. Most folks in the area are aware of the myriad of issues and should be able to help you.

Best of Luck!

Pat

As a retired Military Veteran, a REALTOR and an MRP (my only designation), in my opinion I don't think it will directly help you meet your goal of attracting veteran buyers. 

What you learn could help you better serve them as clients and in return get more referrals from other vets. It also may help you network and get a referral from another MRP if they happen to remember you or look you up in the membership database. 

If you use it in advertising directed to military members, it may also help, but I'm not sure how much more effective those ads would be than ones without it. 

Generally I believe very few consumers know what any of those letters mean or what benefit it would give them. 

Pat

Stephen,

Some of the common issues to look out for are delays in appraisal timeline and fees that are prohibited for the buyer to pay. While the VA claims their appraisal process is just as fast, some areas have very few approved appraisals and getting it done could take longer than expected. A common fee that buyers often pay, but can not pay for a VA loan is pest inspection. You'll need to have the seller (or potentially the lender) pay for it.

More details on not allowed fees are here:http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/purchaseco_lo...

As for grants, just in case the disability is such that the home would need modified for physical access etc... the grants fall under Special Housing Adaptation: http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/adaptedhousin...

Hope that helps!

Pat

Hi Chris,

Our local RIEA is http://creianc.org and has a main meeting monthly (second Monday I think) as well as beginner and advanced groups. It's a great place to meet many local investors who aren't on BP.  We also have a member e-mail group that is regularly used for the CREIA members to share contacts and ask questions.   

In addition there are few investors in the area on BP.

Affordable housing is a huge issue in Asheville right now with many searching for answers. Here is a recent local article on some ideas from city council candidates: http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2015...

and another recent article from another well read local paper: http://mountainx.com/news/homework-solving-ashevil...

The housing fair this month also focused on affordable housing and was very well attended. http://ashevillehousingfair.com

Hope that helps!  Let me know if I can be of further assistance or answer other questions.

Thanks,

Pat

Joshua,

I interviewed with several brokers this spring/early summer and had a lot of questions for them.  But ultimately the questions all really fell into three categories of: How are you going to train me? How are you going to support me? and How are you going to help me grow my business?

I also talked to and met with several agents in each of the firms that I was serious about after interviewing and I found those discussions very helpful in my decision making process.

Pat

That's awesome news! I was wondering what the status was and planned to ask you about it at the CREIA meeting tonight... but now I know the answer. :)

Zion,

(I'm assuming the house is in the county and not within the city limits. If so...)

The County Zoning Ordinance is linked on the county page here: http://www.buncombecounty.org/Governing/Depts/Plan...

It has a permitted use table.  Once you find out how it's zoned you can cross reference it there to see what's allowed. It may show you the zoning on the property card which can be easily found through http://simplicity.ashevillenc.gov/#/search, but not all have zoning listed in the property info and/or are correct... if it's not there you'll need to contact the zoning office at the previous link.

Also look at the property info to see if its in a subdivision and if so, make sure the CC&Rs allow multi family use.  Those documents should also be recorded and might be found by searching the register of deeds database.

Pat

Welcome to the forum @Zion Greenfield! 

Brent,

Welcome to the Bigger Pockets forum! The Asheville market is pretty hot right now, but investors are still finding or creating deals.  Another great resource to check out is the local Carolina Real Estate Investors Association.  They meet monthly (Second Monday) at the AB-Tech Enka campus and also have a beginner's group that meets at the end of the month.

Best of luck to you!

Pat