All Forum Posts by: Phillip Bradrick

@Pradip Chavan Glad to hear you're looking to jump into the real estate investing game.  I agree with assessment of the market that @Cory J Thornton gave you. Investing close into Raleigh or Durham it will be a challenge getting solid cashflow right out of the gate.  I would say that there have been a lot more off market deals being offered by wholesalers in the past few months and many of those are distressed with need to do some renovations to get the property up to speed.  

I am a huge fan of creating equity by buying distressed properties and fixing them up to build in equity from the start. Using a HELOC is a powerful strategy because you can make "cash" offers and close quickly and then refinance once the property is renovated and you can get it appraised. (depending on the lender this will be 6 months - a year) If you're able to find off market distressed deals you can still find reasonable cashflow but still have the appreciation benefits of a bigger market.

At the end of the day, it boils down to what your appetite and long-term strategy is. It may also be worth reconsidering getting your RE license depending on what you are looking to do. I would say that getting it just for MLS access is not worth it as it increases your liability because you are held to a higher standard by the Real Estate Commission. At least food for thought.

@Kara Beal thanks for sharing what you’ve done so far and what your future plans are. I’ve invested and worked in the Raleigh Durham triangle for years. It’s a great market and seems there is starting to be more opportunities for folks doing wholesaling. For a while that became very tough as the large I-buyers like Zillow were paying such high prices for things. Now that many of them have exerted the market I’ve seen a significant uptick in wholesale deal in the past several months.

As to building your network TREIA is a great place to connect with other investors and build your network. https://www.treia.com/

The main encouragement I would have is to try and focus your efforts. You may cast a wide net at first but narrow down to focusing on a few target areas where opportunities are opening up. Covering the whole Triangle and Triad sounds to me like you may stretch yourself in too thin.

You may find success in identifying some good cash buyers and focusing on areas they are purchasing properties. I work with investors across Raleigh and Durham and can certainly pass on your information if you have a solid deal.

I remember well, the feeling of completing my first wholesale deal and it was very exciting. Keep up the great work!

@Sam Smith Unless you are going for the downtown vibe, one of the outskirt markets would be my recommendation.  Wake Forest and Cary would to two that have similar amenities and general feel but have both grown very pricey.

Knightdale and Garner will give you a better value on what you purchase and still have very nice shopping and new infrastructure that has gone in as those towns boom.  I would recommend spending some time driving these areas and getting a feel for them to see what would be a fit.  

If you're looking for leads on renting a place let me know.

@Jack Yen

Hey Jack, I know a lot of the firms in the area and would be happy to connect about this. What are the top most important things for you as you look to transition to a new PM?

Different firms certainly have different focuses and expertise.

@Alex Thomsen. I see a lot of good advice here. I’m an investor and PM in Raleigh / Durham and for us we only let tenants go late a few days. If rent isn’t paid by the 6th then we send a 10 day “pay or get out” notice. This is the first formal step towards eviction. By the 16th if the rent isn’t paid in full we file a summary ejectment with the court to get them out.

Allowing tenants more leeway makes things messy and will almost always mean they will take advantage of the situation.

As for vacancy, 3 months is too long but I would keep in mind it was over the holidays. That will often cause for longer vacancies.

I’d lean towards looking for a new pm.

Take care.

Hey @Zachary Brown, You've gotten a lot of good feedback and there are obviously many perspectives on when and how to jump in.  Finding on market, turnkey properties that cashflow is very unlikely to find unless you go to outskirt markets.  I would recommend possibly building a relationship with a investor / contractor that you could do some creative partnership with.  If you can find someone with hustle and construction knowledge they may be able to help you take down a distressed property allowing you to create cashflow and increase equity significantly.  In the peak of the market, the amount of off market properties were very few.   In the past few months, I have seen a significant uptick in off market properties crossing my desk.

I agree with @Kai Kopsch if you show some patience and work both on and off market properties you can find deals it just takes time.  Also, I am an RE agent and I know if you are working with one that sometimes the amount of effort to find a good deal, especially an off-market deal just isn't worth the commission.  I would chat with your agent and see how you could feed him possible leads on deals and help find that perfect investment.

I'd also come up with the minimum cashflow/ equity you are willing to take and stick to your guns until you find a deal.  I bought a duplex in the peak of the market last year for 25K under the asking price.  I was shocked by it myself but they had so over played the marketing that the many investors that looked at it all walked away thinking it would go for over asking price and we were able to scoop it up at a great discount.  Those deals are few and far between but with a good cash position like you have, I think there is more opportunity now than there was for the past few years.  

I hope this is helpful as you think through your next move.

@Maria Cox hey there. What is the address on this property?

@Aidan Richard Connly just saw your message on here. I would be happy to connect with you and share more about our firm. Many property management companies have pricing models that nickel and dime the property owner with additional fees. Because I invest in real estate my self, our pricing is simple and aligns the owner and property manager’s financial incentive.

Happy to share more. Take care.

@Grayson Spittel let’s do it. Always down for connecting with other local investors. I sent you a pm…

@Becca Lee I live here in wake forest and am a real estate investor as well as owner of a property management company that serves Wake, Durham and Franklin Counties. We love Wake Forest and have found it to be a wonderful place to live and raise our family.