All Forum Posts by: Curtis Mears

Welcome James to BP. I am also a full time buy and hold investor in Raleigh, mainly on the East side of Raleigh.

Adam,

In my mind, it is fairly large. On the outside, it involves replacing about 50% of the siding (75 boards) and molding and any issues from water penetration.  know there is some mold in the cripple wall which will need to be fixed also.  Also, about 7 windows will need to be replaced as well as at least 1 exterior door, and repainting the exterior. Also, the existing deck needs to be made structurally sound as there is significant eroding of the existing footers. On the interior, there is some sub-flooring which needs replaced, and this may lead to new cabinets (depending on the contractors thought on this). Also, a leak in the washer line as well as any water damage from this. Overall, much of the issue stems from water damage. Also some electrical where switches have not been rewired correctly. I am guessing more will pop up as we get into the existing work. I had 1 contractor tell me about a week and a half of work, but I have never received any actual quote from him, so that may not be correct.

I have recently purchased a rental property on the East side of Raleigh, NC. The house needs some work such as replacement windows, rotted siding, unsupported deck, and several other issues (and probably more as we get into it). I am doing some of the work myself, but would rather have a good GC do all the structural work, electrical and plumbing. If you have a good contractor you feel comfortable with, please send me their contact info. 

I am finding it difficult to locate any deals in the 1% range.  Sellers in this market even seem to think the houses that need work should be sold at retail. I would love to find homes in the 1% range.

Alex,

I am buying similar properties in the Raleigh area, 3 bed/ 2.5 bath. Your numbers are probably not far off. I have found the 1% rule does not apply in the Raleigh area. Maybe if you are buying houses which need work, but buying retail is difficult to find those deals. I am finding numbers closer to .8%. 

For real estate attorney, I have used Brady Law Firm and been happy with them.

I am by no means an expert, but I have invested in Raleigh. I looked in Northern Raleigh for a while (about 2 to 3 years ago), but never made the #'s work. I am investing more in the east, near Knightdale. I do not know about the Southern area. I do cash flow, but the numbers are not home runs. I am buying houses in the $140 - 160's and renting in the $1,300 range. The houses I am buying are clean and are ready to lease less than a week after closing. I think you could do better if you purchased houses in need of some work. I am going to start looking into this area over the next 6 months or so.

I used Isaac Bradley who works for Lynch and Eatman to form my LLC. He did a good job, but not sure about the CPA portion of your question.

I have also used the Brady Law Firm, Brian Brady. Going forward, I plan to use Brian more as he is a small 2 man office, and did a great job on 2 closings I had.

My CPA is in Ohio, and is awesome...but he is in Ohio.

Curtis

I have been looking in the Raleigh area for several months (bought 2) and what I notice is the good houses priced right move quick. Houses that are overpriced or not well maintained take longer. I think some of the people with run down houses try to get top dollar, so the house sits. But, I have not seen declining prices.

I was able to geet the issue resolved. Not sure why it did not allow me to login originally, but tried it the next day and worked as expected.