All Forum Posts by: Simon O.

Hi Andrew. I've used Robert Knowles (Knowles Inspection Services) for all my properties in Charleston. He's been doing this for over 30 years and is also a structural engineer. He is INCREDIBLY thorough and his reports have been very helpful in negotiating final terms. The agents always say the same thing when they see the inspection report; 'I've never seen anything like this'! Good luck with the property. Will you keep us posted on how it goes?

@ Troy Gandee Autocorrect can be a real pain in the... Jay

Hi Biggerpockets, I need some help!

Does anybody know of any lenders that will lend to an international buyer (non US citizen) who wants to buy a primary residence (rather than an investment property)?

Thank you!

Thanks Russ

@Russ Scheider 

Yeah I guess we're wrestling with just how uncertain it all is - it's very difficult to know if the numbers stack up when some of the variables are unknown. From your experience has it had a major impact on property prices in high risk flood zones in the area? And ability to resell? (We're looking at buy and hold but if your exit strategy is non existent then that's a factor to consider too)

I hear you about the peninsula - King/Meeting from around Spring Street up feels like it's going to blow up in the next couple of years. Have you been looking at properties in that area? 

Also, curious why you feel growth for Johns Island is 5-10 years away?

Hi everybody!

I was hoping to reach out to all you folks who own/rent properties in the Charleston area.

We're looking at buying a place in Johns Island but we're from outside the city so trying to get to grips with the whole flood insurance thing. We've seen some places that we maybe like and where the HOA fees include flood insurance, but we're worried given all that's going on with flood insurance at the moment. Although the HOA fees are very manageable right now, what will happen in a couple of years time - could the HOA fees conceivably double or triple because of increased flood insurance rates?

Also, if anybody has any insight into the Johns Island area that would be great! Seems to be nice area and more affordable than places like Mt Pleasant - but please let me know if I'm missing something!

@Dmitriy Fomichenko  thank you for the links. I've had quite a dig around the site, but there always seems to be more to read and learn!

@Edward Synicky for sure one of my biggest priorities will be to start building a network to help me on my way and hopefully to ultimately be able to contribute something back. That's what's so amazing about BP - being able to talk to good folks like yourself who have seen and done so much. Thanks for the advice.

@Lauren Apicella good to meet a fellow newbie! Thanks for the link to the books - hadn't seen that so will be sure to check it out.

@scott 

@Scott Winbigler LOL - look forward to picking your brains and will send you a PM if that's ok? Great to see you didn't waste any time before getting stuck into your first project in Charleston! Has been stressful at all or has it gone mostly to plan? It's so helpful to be able to talk to somebody who is going through what we're about to - thanks for offering to help.

@Erik Hitzelberger thank you so much for the recommendation, I will get in touch with them and let them know you sent me their way

@Dave Visaya thank you for the warm welcome - great to be part of such a friendly community!

@Brandon Turner thank you for the welcome and for everything else you do on here - I've read a lot of your posts already and they have all been awesome!

@Patrick H. First of all, I've checked out your post of your first rehab and it is phenomenal what you achieved - you must have been so proud of the transformation and from the numbers you posted it seems to have been a great commercial success as well. Second of all, thank you so much for all that feedback - so so helpful. I'll take you up on your kind offer and PM you shortly to get some more info. Thanks again!

@Russ Scheider great to hear from another person with positive experiences of moving to Charleston! Thank you so much for your thoughts and I will definitely PM you with a follow up on realtors etc.

Overwhelmed by all the replies - thank you again to everybody for being so generous with your time.

Hi all!

First of all I'd like to say thank you so much to all the contributors on here - this is an absolutely fantastic resource and I know I'm not alone in finding it invaluable.

So a little about us... my wife and I currently live out of state, but are planning to move to Charleston SC in the next couple of years and get involved in property there. Whether that means rentals, fix and flip, something else etc. we're not sure yet. My wife's parents are actually going to move to Charleston first - ideally before Christmas this year - so we are going to start by buying the property for them to live in. 

This is my very first message so I know it's a bit naughty to ask for help, but if anybody had any thoughts on the following I'd be very much obliged!

1) We're all going to visit Charleston shortly to check out neighbourhoods but we're looking for a neighbourhood with great schools and somewhere that's convenient to both downtown Charleston and the beaches so are thinking either downtown Charleston itself or Mount Pleasant. Does anybody know of any good realtors we can get in touch with to start getting a feel for best schools, best neighbourhoods, what's achievable within our budget etc?

2) A question if there is anybody here who has moved to Charleston from out of State... did you find it easy to settle down and make friends? It's a big step to take and would love to hear your experiences!

3) a question for anybody involved in the property market in Charleston - how is the market there? Are there opportunities across the spectrum of property investing or does it lend itself to one more than another? 

Once it get closer to the time for us to move I'm looking forward to building a network with those of you in Charleston!

Thanks again

Simon