All Forum Posts by: Ben H.

Appreciate the input. Was able to tailor the agreement to something much narrower and more representative of what we were doing. Thanks for the assistance.

I have bought/sold a number of properties in North Carolina but it has been a few years. Currently working on an offer to purchase some farm land for a future personal home build. Listing agent passed me over to another agent in same firm for me to work with as my buyer’s agent. My buyer’s agent is asking me to sign an “Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement” that states I’ll only use her for real estate deals for the next 12 months and I as a buyer guarantee the firm a 6% commission. 

I don’t remember signing this in previous deals (but I could be wrong). Is this normal/legit?

Lots of building in the last 15 years = nearly zero appreciation on a standard 2500 sq ft stick house because that is what has been built. Pricing is strictly $ per sq ft; you are not going to get anything extra for wood floors, marble, etc. because that is what all the homes have that have been built in the last decade. Decent rental market but you're not going to get above the BAH of a SSgt / Captain. Definitely don't buy your dream home and then hope to rent it or sell it profitably in 3 years. Nice area to live but not a hot market like true beach towns or larger towns / cities near the water.

Hey all. Selling a house FSBO (for now). Have sold FSBO before but that was to a tenant so no need for an agent on either side. This time I'm listing a house FSBO on the market and have been contact by multiple buyer's agents. Any thoughts on how best to proceed? I don't have a problem with working with a buyer's agent but am not sure how that would work as far as commission, who's doing paperwork, etc. Your advice is welcome and thanks in advance.

Davis Associates in Sneads Ferry.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an appraisal service to help with a commercial land/building assessment? Onslow County area. 

@David Pere - No, commanders can force you to live in base housing. Whenever you check-in to a new base you have to request permission to live off base. At Camp Lejeune it is for the most part guaranteed you will be allowed to live off base if you are married with dependents because there is not enough housing for all 40,000 Marines that are assigned there. For officers and senior enlisted they can assume they will. For mid-grade enlisted...likely. For junior enlisted, especially bachelors, you are most likely going to forced to live in the barracks. One of the prior commandants made a big deal out of keeping the junior Marines in the barracks (good move). All that being said, to the original poster, no, Camp Lejeune is not going to be building enough housing to force the entire force to live on base.

I'd recommend verifying the source of that news. I would recommend against making investment decisions based based only on what someone has heard.

The Jacksonville market is based solely on sq ft and rent relative to the neighborhood. A nicer property will only get you rented faster at the same rate as the next door run-down house. It is a transitional community where the Marines (mostly) are trying to maximize their housing allotment knowing they will move in the near future. Settling down long-term in a nicer house is not enough for them to shell out the extra $50/mo they could spend on beer. But YMMV.

I've spent a long time in Lejeune (12 of the last 17 years) and have owned two homes in Sneads Ferry as well as in Jacksonville itself as well as own two businesses. I turned two primary residences into rentals and completed a Buy-Rehab-Rent-Refi project. This is a good area for rental properties. While the hurricanes are dangerous a side effect from Florence last year was decreasing the supply in housing overall leading to an increase in the rental potential in most areas of SE NC. Lord willing my interests in the area are spared this year as they were last year.

Before answering the SF vs Swansboro question, I need to point out- as has been stated elsewhere- that the criteria to purchase a primary residence is often different than the criteria to purchase an income property. Not that those CAN'T be congruent, but they often are not. If you are truly projecting to move in 2-4 years and rent it out, then you need to run the rental numbers and purchase on that criteria and not on how much house can you get for the smallest monthly payment (often the criteria for a primary residence).

As for SF vs Sneads Ferry that depends...both are quaint fishing villages. Swansboro itself is an actual municipality whereas SF is an unincorporated area of the county. Both have had significant growth in the last decade. Schools are better in Swansboro overall. You're closer to the beach in SF. Traffic is better in SF (though getting worse), has easier base access, and you're closer to Wilmington (if that is a draw). Swansboro has more "stuff" going on (an actual "downtown", more restaurants, shopping) but is more expensive overall. SF has some good neighborhoods but overall the area is quite poor. As for living on the water, for SF you're basically asking to live on the intracoastal. In Swansboro water means the White Oak River. Flooding is a bigger problem in Swansboro than SF.

End of the day, you need to look in both areas, find a neighborhood that works, and find a home that meets your criteria.

Hope that helps.