All Forum Posts by: Rodney Walker

@Brian H.

Thanks for responding to my post. I went to school at App State and so did my wife, which is where we met. I worked my way through school on a Christmas tree and produce farm; climbed plenty of hills! Western NC has a soft place in my heart.

Honestly, I never intended to invest in raw land or timber as a strategy. The last one I did was a by-product of driving by 40 acres every day for 6 months noticing the parcel remained for sale....in a great area. And I knew what land values were in my area just by knowing the market and living in the same place for a long time.

I emailed the Realtor to see if there was any flexibility on price or If the seller would offer any financing. The Realtor said the owner would do neither. I said “ok” and asked if I could walk the land and they said yes. So I thoroughly walked it and noticed how good the timber looked. I did some research and felt like I had a good idea of what the timber value was on the low end.

Long story longer, 6 more months went by with it sitting on the market. I found a partner willing to put up half of the money upfront. I called realtor back up and offered half of the asking price down with the owner taking back a note for the rest - 30 year amortization with a 2 year balloon. They countered at a 1 year balloon and I took it. I had another exit strategy to begin with but Found a timber consultant to publish the timber for sale. We ended up with enough for the timber to pay the rest of the land off. I then re-listed the land at a really competitive price without the timber on it - sold it in about 60 days or so. Sale price plus timber sale less what we paid and soft costs ended up okay. All in was about 235k, land and timber sale was about 285k. There are a lot of details I’ve glossed over, but in the end, I’m just grateful it worked out b/c it was a pretty big risk with a short term balloon and many variables that had to go right.

My advice would be to know land values as a start and know your local market. The forestry service is a wealth of knowledge and a good place to start for timber knowledge and values. The other advice after education would be to take action, be persistent even through failure, and don’t be scared to ask for and pursue creative financing/deals.

But, yes, the short answer is there is money to be made in land and timber just as there is with any other type of segment in real estate...... part time or full time. If the strategy fits you then learn about it and take necessary steps forward. I wish you the best.

I became interested in REI when I read a Carlton Sheets course in college then came, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". Things really stuck for me when I got involved with a forum out of Baltimore, Maryland called ***************** started by Steve Cook who now runs lifeonaire.com; also read and lurked a lot on creonline.com site back in the day. Biggerpockets now seems to be the "go to" resource and here I am.

Over the years, I have been involved in about 75-100 transactions. I have some knowledge in the toolbox, but I got completely wiped out in 2010-2011 due to poor planning and a toxic partnership that I should have addressed sooner. I digress. I have recently completed a couple live-in flips, previously completed raw land/timber deals, multiple rehabs, a couple wholesale deals, but mainly stuck to new construction (I am a GC in NC). I also rented my personal house for a year once and was going to build my own rentals as a next phase…….but 2010-2011 happened.

Over the last 8 years - post debacle - I re-directed and poured my heart/soul/everything into bootstrapping the turn-around of a small mfg business that is still turning around (overnight successes take 20 years!) went back to get my MBA for "insurance", etc. I planned that building the business would be part of my retirement and become the hub that would link spokes in the wheel to other streams like getting back into REI. Every year has been "…next year I'll….". Tons of potential with the business still, but I am 43 years old and I can't wait another year - it is time for me to do multiple streams now and play both hands. I have gained inspiration from @Karen Rittenhouse from my area who realized around my age she had to find the right vehicle to become retirement ready.

Ultimately, I still love new construction and am good at it. My goal is to buy what I call “in-fill” lots – lots that didn’t get built out during original construction - in established neighborhoods (or a lot in a good area) in desirable school districts that are in the median home/first time buyer price range. I’d like to build one to sell and one to rent; rolling profit from each new build into each rental. So basically instead of finding deals, create/build them.  I know that there is a lot to weigh with new building costs right now, time to build, location, and other factors/pros/cons all of which I am penciling and navigating.

I am posting this for my own accountability and to connect with others in my geographic area. Thanks for reading and to all who contribute.