All Forum Posts by: Ross Gortney

I haven't done it myself, so I'm not familiar with all the details -- but yes, you borrow for 6 months then you can refinance it into a traditional mortgage. Last time I went to the Upstate REIA, there were several companies there offering this kind of lending.

@John Underwood

Yes!  Where do you find your <$30k houses, John?

Hey Jarrod, 

I have property in Greenville and Spartanburg that have a CoC over 10%. I bought them both in 2019, so it's not a fair comparison to today's market -- especially if you're comparing in Greenville where the $ amount of housing prices has jumped much more. Your post made me want to update my numbers and see where I'm at today. I have two duplexes (long term rentals) in Spartanburg that has a CoC of 11% (this one is on a 5.125% 30 yr fixed mortgage), and a house in Greenville that I do short term (Airbnb) rentals that has a CoC of 16% (this one is mortgage free).

I thought before covid, and still today, that Spartanburg is a fantastic market to be in to buy rentals. I just did a search and picked the first multi-family property I saw (217 college st, it's a duplex) and ran the numbers. I'm estimating a 10% CoC return on that one, this assumes a 6.5% 30 yr fixed mortgage and minimal ($3k) in repairs to get the units leased.

Also, you CAN compete with cash offers.  Just like a lot of other people, you can get short term financing (like hard money) to create the "cash" sale.  It costs more (short term sunk cost), but the option is out there, ready and waiting.  That's how you have tons of houses 10+ offers over the past year and half of them could be "cash" offers.  No, there's not that many people out there with $300k laying around in cash, hahaha!

So, keep your head up :)  There are still deals to be had without even searching that hard!  I'd also suggest just starting to tell people you know you're an investor looking to buy in the upstate -- especially people in the RE industry, like lenders, other investors, agents, etc.  I've had many deals come to me by word of mouth that were intentionally off-market.

I disagree that it's a strong market for rental properties in Greenville. I live in Greenville and I'm an investor. Your growth at its best comes from appreciation, typically yielding negative cash flow. If you can hedge your bets hoping on appreciation (aka speculation), you can do ok/well depending the situation. If you want cash flowing properties yielding 10% CoC+, this isn't the place. That's why I invest in neighboring towns.

I'm not talking about the epidemic;  epidemic or not, how do you define cash flow?

I'm curious to know better what everyone thinks "cash flow" means.  I've seen many videos and listened to many podcasts, many books, and overall it seems like everyone isn't using the same measurement about cash flow.  To me, cash flow means the amount of money you realize at the end of the month after all expenses are paid -- ultimately the cash left over at the end of the year after all expenses paid including taxes and insurance.  Seems many investors ignore costs that are real.  My investments have been hit hard with expenses -- likely my own inexperience and inability to be on site daily.

@Steven Kassler

Yes, I have rental property that I manage myself that's only a 45min drive away that I find frustrating to get good work done on time...contractors that say they'll be there and won't show, or arrive hours or days late, then no feedback about the work done, all the while I'm trying to coordinate to be there in person.  Tough to do if you have a full time job, not to mention the stress and uncertainty.  It would be so much easier if the place was in my neighborhood so I could easily stop by any time.  Especially for small things that can be fixed in 5 min that otherwise you need to pay someone $100 just to show up and investigate.  That's my frustration with a property that is already rented and operational...I can't imagine trying to do the same thing on a rehab project when the place is out of sight without a flight.  My 2 cents...

Personally, I wouldn't feel very comfortable trying to pull off a BRRRR project that's across the country. It brings a lot of ease-of-mind and control to be local so you can see the progress on the place in person on a regular basis. Unless, as Steve Morris said, you have a real trusted person that's in that market that could help lead the project. If the place is rent-ready, you could just spend a few days there to close and hand off the keys to a property manager.

Arn and John - thanks very much for your quick responses - it would be great to chat with you.

Hi BP community,

I'm looking at expanding to more rental property in upstate SC.  I live in Greenville and have rentals in Spartanburg.  Seems like Spartanburg is a great investment hub considering the price to rental ratios.  I'm interested to know if anyone else is investing in the area and has some thoughts about it?