All Forum Posts by: Sean Hudgins

Welcome to Hampton Roads! The market of 7 markets in one. Your best bet is to go city by city and decide if you want to invest in that city or not. What is your investing philosophy? Single family, multi-family, STR?

As for Comps, an appraiser will generally be looking within 1 1-mile radius. Keep in mind that if you cross major roadways within that 1-mile radius, those comps may not be valid, as the neighborhood could be completely different. 

I would be happy to connect with you and go over the different areas and discuss strategy.

 I have been investing since 2018 and have been an agent since 2022. I have one rental in Green Run and have also had some clients invest in that same area, which is why I really like it. I was active duty Navy prior to being a full-time agent. 

That's great, I love the SFR especially for equity build. I would be looking for something in Norfolk at that price point. I would personally try to avoid the super old homes if possible, just to keep things simple. Another great location would still be the green run area of VB. There are some good options in that area as well.

@Javin Platon , Hey, I would love to connect. I own three homes in the area and have helped some other BP folks find investments here as well. Something I have found especially in your price range is that Virginia Beach town homes do really well with cash flow, and there are an abundance of them in the area. My particular favorite area is Green Run, where I own a townhome myself, with low HOA fees, and lots of inventory to choose from.

Are you looking to just add to the portfolio or were you thinking about using up some of that equity in the other homes?

@Wyatt Ripton Welcome to the community!! Are you looking to do a small multifamily or more of a live-in flip in Norfolk? 

@Janelle Benzick, Welcome to the exciting world of REI! Sounds like you are in research mode, which is great. Are you looking to get into STR in the VB area, or are you looking outside this area? The Hampton Roads area in general has some unique STR Rules depending on the city and even the location within each city. As you read Avery's Book I would start looking into some of those local regulations so you are not surprised by them down the line.

If you are interested in sitting down, we have some local REI meetups. Also, feel free to DM me. I would be happy to discuss some of the intricacies of STR in this market if that's what you're going for.

I would recommend reaching out to the brokerages and see if you can do a presentation at their team meeting. That's a great way to get introduced to a lot of agents and the new ones all in one place. I do generally agree that once someone has their person, they are not going to be very open to switching. but if you can prove yourself with someone building that team, you may find yourself in a great position. 

Also, try and reach out to the Sandbridge vacation rental companies and see if you can get on their list or radar. that would be a great way to get very steady demand in the summertime.

@Sean McDowell Congrats on the first flip! great numbers. do you have many buy and holds here in the Norfolk area?

@Russell Brazil definitely nailed it. The thing that some sellers are having trouble with is understanding that this is now a variable in the transaction where it use to be somewhat set at the beginning of the transaction. But it leaves room for the savvy listing agent to negotiate more money for the seller. And on the flip side, if I know that I'm going to be the only offer on a house as a buyers agent, I have a pretty solid chance of getting the service fee that I want.

I really like to think about it like online dating. I want the first 5 photos to be the ones that draw the buyer in. My order goes like this.

1: Front of House (unless there is an extra special feature. think a Plane Jane house with a chef kitchen or over-the-top pool and patio area)

2-5: Highlights of the best features of the house. If the house is staged, it would be the nicest-looking main areas. If the house is vacant, I like these to be Virtually Staged Pictures... Real Staging is Far superior to virtual, by the way. Also, if the community has a stand-out feature or the property stands out, then an overhead may go here as well. 

6-50: I set up the logical walk through the house from the front door through the house in the most logical way. I leave virtual staging out of these photos if vacant, so there are no big surprises when people come to see the house, and it's empty. And floor plans are last.