All Forum Posts by: Rowen Burney

Hello BP, I recently came into possession of a list of hundreds of lots that are FSBO in the upstate of SC and was wondering, "Are lots a good investment?". I wanted to hear fellow BP member's opinions on investing in land and whether or not I should do the same. Thanks so much, everyone. Have a great day!

Good evening BP, I am a freshman at the University of South Carolina studying Aerospace Engineering. I am currently working alongside my father on my first residential RE deal. As we head into the new year I will continue my RE wholesaling adventure here in Columbia SC and would like to compile a list of any BP members that would be interested in receiving deals that I find. If you are interested, please message me your preferred way to be contacted about future deals (email, BP, etc) and I would be happy to add you to the list.

Thank you to everyone for your time.

@Brandon Penn

Congrats Man! Sounds like you're crushing it!

The 1% rule is always great. If a property can rent for 1% of its purchase price per month it will generally cash flow. Makes it really easy to weed out bad deals. For example, if a property is worth 350k and it would only rent for 1.2k then it probably isn't the best deal. Obviously, this rule doesn't apply to everything but it can be a good rule of thumb.

If I were you I honestly wouldn't even think about dropping 350k on a house that only breaks even. Relying on appreciation alone to make money is just as good as speculation or gambling in my book. I would recommend you look at different markets that are up and coming with cheaper home prices and higher rents. In places like this, you should be able to find cash flow positive properties with enough work and appreciation would just be icing on the cake. Just my $.02.

As long as a house is in good condition and has been updated to modern standards and codes, age should not be too much of an issue. However, older houses do tend to have more problems with structure, plumbing, electrical, and insulation. An 80-year-old house with lead-based paints, asbestos, rusty pipes, coal furnace, and shotty electrical obviously won't be worth as much as a similar sized modern house.

I would recommend getting a RE agent to run comps on multis in your area. From there you will see what market prices to expect for each type of multi which will help you know that a property you are analyzing is under market value.

Westside/Woodside village seem to be being flipped from crummy old mill houses to nice modern homes. Also, the San Souci and Cherrydale area are great and upcoming areas. Let me know if you have any more questions, I live in Greenville and I'm always happy to help!

Would you be able to get the tenants to pay utilities? This should help increase your cash flow drastically.

@Carlisle Edens Welcome to BP! I live up in Greenville and will be going to USC down in Columbia later this year and will be working under another experienced investor while in school. If you ever need any help making connections don't hesitate to reach out. I'm always down to lend a hand.