All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

There are a lot of options for you on the Outer Banks (OBX). If you are seriously looking for a place to call your home away from home, it would serve you well to visit the areas of interest. I don't have any investments in the OBX, but have visited or stayed in almost all the areas. There are some distinct differences among the areas that could sway your decision. The northernmost section of the OBX runs from Nags Head to the Virginia border. Lots of restaurants and some decent entertainment in the Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores and Duck areas. With the amenities comes traffic and congestion. Going to the far northern area you have Corolla and the 4x4 Carova area. Going south from Nags Head, there is a more relaxed feel in the Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo and Avon communities. Rodanthe's shoreline is pretty much gone, with houses sitting right at high tide line in some areas. Compared with the more northerly areas, there is less shopping and entertainment and a bit more tranquility. Toward the southern end of Hatteras island are Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras. This area is a fisherman's paradise. There is little entertainment, a lack of high end restaurants, and limited shopping. There is, however, an abundance of peace and rarely any traffic issues. A one-hour ferry from Hatteras, or 2.5 hour ferry from the mainland will get you to Ocracoke. Ocracoke is a gem of an island. There is not much to do there except to slow down and enjoy yourself. The island is full of vacationers during summer but in the off season is a real escape. No oceanfront properties on Ocracoke. Beautiful beaches that are rarely crowded. I prefer to 4x4 on the beach and normally spend my days on the beach in the summer with no one closer than 100 yards from me. If you go south of this area, you can look at the crystal coast area. Further south, the beach communities near Wilmington offer proximity to all the modern conveniences. The rental markets are strong across all the areas. Each has its own identity and attracts a slightly different group of vacationers. I think the key is in defining what you are looking for - whether that is solitude, nightlife, oceanfront, soundfront, condo vs house, shopping, proximity to larger urban areas, etc. As for insurance, there are some good resources if you Google NC coastal insurance. This is all high level and just my opinion, but I'm happy to add perspective on any areas if you like.

Nick Williams I suggest digging into information from the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. You can also reach out to developers with a track record with AHFC; here is a link https://www.ahfc.us/files/7013/5596/1436/lihtc_project_owners.pdf If you are going the route of a grant or low income housing tax credit program, there are hurdles to recapturing your investment quickly. Partnering up with one of Alaska's LIHTC developers would definitely help your project in the eyes of AHFC, and provide a great resource for navigating their programs. There are also CPA firms with extensive experience in consulting investors like yourself - CohnReznick and Novogradac being the most reputable. If you are interested in talking with such a firm, I can make an introduction for you.

Robert S. The 301 redirect is a good setup in case you want to make changes in the future whether that be adding, deleting, or selling URLs.

Isaiah Lopez I would definitely sell the California property. Based on the numbers you presented, this is not going to be a cash-flowing property and is solely a bet on appreciation. With negative cash flow, no equity, and little capital reserves the California property is a liability and a huge risk for you to continue holding. Take time to build up a pile of cash to invest in your next property. While saving, read a lot on real estate investing, listen to BP podcasts, network with investors, etc. Then go house-hack or find great deals on properties that cash flow positively.

Neal Richardson I applaud you for the work you are undertaking with these students and I hope your program is wildly successful. I would love to hear how the program progresses and to see if it is scalable to spread to other areas of the country. It does sound like a bit of a stretch that these youth will absorb the full real estate investment perspective. From your summary, it sounds like they will be immersed in the world of construction management. That is great in getting their feet wet in the world of real estate from a rehab/construction perspective, but it sounds like the program will focus on this aspect and not provide real world experience in some other critical areas. Since the properties the program will be working on are already acquired, there is a critical gap in the real estate investment mindset that the program does not immerse students in, and that is the art of sourcing, negotiating and closing a property at a good value. I am not knocking your program, but it would be short-sighted to unleash young adults with the belief that they are now prepared to be real estate investors. Maybe acquisitions, negotiations, etc. could be an additional program for your non-profit to offer down the road to those interested. What about other important aspects of successful investing? Financing, renting, managing, exit strategies, market analysis, etc? Would there be further opportunities for these students to get connected with local investors after your program? Some will surely have a fire lit in them, and with some experience in the world of rehab, could build upon their experience in your program. Please let the BP community know if we can do anything to help and best of luck!

Joseph Hennis It definitely appears you need a CPA that can serve you better. @Brandon Hall and @Amanda Han are both contributors on BP with good articles/books. Your CPA should be delivering value to you that well exceeds the fees you pay them. Finding a CPA with real estate experience, particularly one that invests themselves, should yield a much better business partner for you. I would echo Brandon Hicks comments regarding your path forward on future investments, dispositions or refinances.

Joseph Hennis It sounds like you need to get your arms around tracking the performance of each property from a net income / cash flow perspective. As you mentioned some struggles with Quickbooks you could spend a few dollars for a bookkeeper/CPA (with real estate experience) to help get your numbers in order. After assessing the performance of each property, you should be able to then identify areas for improvement of cash flow for each investment. Go line by line on each property's P&L and challenge every number; attempting to raise rents and lower expenses for every line item. If a single property does not cash flow to a certain level (your bar to set), then sell the property and apply the equity in a more profitable investment. Aside from the struggles of the accounting system, you can easily establish separate checking accounts for each property. If you have not already done so, the separate checking accounts provide a clear delineation of all revenue and expenses for each property. Your bank statements then provide a quick and easy way to gauge net cash flow by property. My apologies if this is not on target. Congratulations on building a portfolio and best of luck!

Steven Wade I unfortunately do not have any hard examples of such an agreement; I was throwing out the idea. There are folks in the industry filling the demand of being Airbnb property managers, and even some companies like Pillow offering a suite of services to Airbnb property owners. Sorry I cannot provide more but regardless it sounds like you have a gray rental on your hands.

Steven Wade The Airbnb option is interesting as it has potential to generate more cash flow than a typical long-term lease. If you are considering the Airbnb route but hesitant to get your hands dirty, would the prospective master-lease tenant be willing to structure a management agreement with you where they would earn a lucrative management fee for managing your Airbnb property? If you are up for trying it out for a year, maybe an arrangement would be worth a shot and ease you into the world of Airbnb management. I too would hesitate to give the master leaser full control of the property. There was a Podcast (I cannot remember the number) with a guy that runs an Airbnb property in northern Virginia - if you have not listened it is worth the time to get perspective on life as an Airbnb landlord.

Clayton Plank Thank you Clayton. The BP article is great. I am, however, looking for specific book recommendations that would be good reads for kids.