All Forum Posts by: Todd Anderson

@Amish J Patel,

Congrats on starting your REI journey. And welcome to the VIP community.

I worked with a number of investors lately, who are very happy with the Charlotte market. They agree with you that buying a newer property will likely have lower, initial maintenance costs, and higher starting, cash flow. 

I owned a property management company for over 15 years and managed over 700 units. There's a lot to know  in property management, but starting with three properties and someone local you should be able to handle the learning curve.  There are definitely good practices and policies to get in place before you scale, but starting with just three properties, you should be able to handle things as they come up.  

Now that you have joined the BP community, I would strongly recommend becoming a pro member. There is some nice bonuses like access to leases and forms and even property management software's that come with the package.  I myself am planning to use the software when it's time for me to change with my own properties. These forms are also a great way to get small questions answered as you go.  

The most important thing to get ready before you start is a good screening process and have the right lease in place. This will give you the best way to find the best tenant and keep them for the longest time.  

Best of luck.

@Krystan Menz

Welcome to the BP community. This is a great place to find information before you make the move.

You have some good *** assumptions and are asking some of the right questions. If you are looking for an investment that you will be using a property manager and don't want to personally handle a flip, I believe OOS he is a good option, even for your first deal.

In your research, I would recommend you look into new construction investing. Many of the investors that I work with have found that this is an easy and profitable way to invest OOS without most of the headaches.   We find, as investors, working with good builders and getting new properties is a hasslefree process, and normally quicker to cash flow. 

Investors that I work with find value in using a team that is set up from builder, to property manager, to insurance, and boots on the ground. With the team like this, and the technology in today's world and investor can see their properties condition during each step.

As for your question on market, there are many great markets throughout the country. Many of the investors that I talk with find value in the Sunbelt, we are markets are growing in both population and employment. This allows you to get in the way of obvious appreciation in a growing market. We also find that in these markets we can get day one cash flow because there are people looking for rentals.

Let me know if I can help with specifics on some of the certain markets that we are seeing good performance.

Best of luck

@Ying Tang,

Welcome to the BP community. It looks like you've done the right things to start your real estate investing journey. Now you're in the right place to ask questions about how to continue.

Every day, I am hearing the same thing from the investors that I work with about BRRRR. they are able to find deals, but it's hard in today's interest rate world to be able to get money out after the renovation. Most people find that it's hard to get these deals to cash flow.

The investors that I am working with now, are finding that it's easier to invest in new construction to find cash flow.  Builders in this market are able to give incentives that allow investors to cash flow day one. In today's market where things have slowed, the builders that I work with are even more ready to deal. many investors find they can get incentives like rate buy downs and free property management.  

With the money, your husband and you are saving for investment each year it would be easy for you to grow a very nice portfolio in just a few years. This could be a portfolio of new properties that need little maintenance and could get better appreciation and older properties. 

These are just thoughts that I talk to investors about.

You've had a great start. Best of luck in the future.

@Steve Yount,

This is a great and very under utilizesd way to invest in Real Estate.  

I am currently working with an investor that is doing this exact thing.  She has a SDIRA in which she needed to deploy 400k.  We found that she could purchase two new construction duplexes. She will keep a small amount of capital in the SDIRA to cover expenses. Most of the expenses should be very minimal because the properties are new construction and carry a builders warranty.

This investor that I'm working with, has been very impressed with the ease of this process, and the ability for it to be hands off in the future. The only small complication is the lending criteria, which we were able to navigate easily.

Feel free to connect if you're interested in the details of all this worked.

Best of luck.

@Sas Sel,

When I talk with the investors that I work with, who are concerned about the storms and insurance in Florida? We look at markets like North Carolina. I have worked with a number investors who are very impressed with the growth of investments around the Charlotte market.

The Charlotte market has most of the benefits of Florida, but is much more inland. The growth areas about 45 minutes outside. The city are good place to find investment properties that still hit cash flow metrics. As others on bigger pockets have said the Charlotte market is projected to be a growth market for the future.

I personally would not hesitate. I'm looking at other markets in Florida. I have found a number of great looking investments just north of you in the Ocala market.

It sounds like you've done a great job in investing so far best of luck in finding the next great investment.

@Josh Keena,

Congrats on joining the BP community. And congrats on taking your first step that's the hardest. This community will help you gain the confidence to take the next step.

When I talk to the investors that I work with I recommend that they keep their W-2 job. If it is something that they were good at and like doing. The real estate investing grow your wealth, so that when you are ready to move on from the W-2 you have the wealth to do it. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Real estate investing takes time to build wealth and to build any meaningful cash flow that will replace a W-2 job. 

It sounds like you were looking for a more turnkey approach to investing.  In your position that something I would strongly recommend. Find an agent or a team that you are comfortable working with and start growing your portfolio. If you keep working hard the way you are it won't take long before you look back and you're looking at a very nice portfolio that will create wealth for your future.

Feel free to connect if you have more detailed questions.

Best of luck in your investing journey.

@Jake Andronico,

Great point. this is an area that I have been investing in a lot lately. I have found that in many markets an investor is able to find a doable and sometimes better deal with new construction.

I found that there's a number of advantages with this type of investing. Not only are you investing into a new property that will have far less maintenance and need for immediate improvement.  But the investors that I work with find that the deals on new construction can solve for many of the problems in today's market.

Many of the builders that I work with are offering great incentives that solve the biggest problems that investors have today. This would be firstly interest rates. any of the builders that I've worked with are able to offer more of a rate by down, because the property is new construction, than you can find anywhere on the MLS. The other benefit that investors find is because of the lower cost of maintenance, and sometimes management, the properties that we find normally cash flow day one.

This is a great and growing investment class and I believe one that not everybody knows about.   thanks for bringing some for it and I hope it keeps working well in your market.

Best of luck.

@Marcus Auerbach,

While, I do agree with some of your points about OOS. I don't think that this applies to all asset classes.  In the example you give it sounds like you were looking at value ad or flip situations and I do agree that these are very tough to do from a distance. It's tough to keep good quality. It's tough to keep good timing and it's tough to keep good budget.

With the investors that I have worked with over the past few years, we have found that OOS in new construction investment properties can be a very easy and profitable way to invest. With this kind of investing, you can work with a specific or a few builders who you can easily vet.  When searching for a property manager, if you're not using a turnkey provider, you can find one that focuses more on the financials.  this is because with new construction, the cost for maintaining the property is vastly lower because all items in the property are new.

There's also the issue that we normally find better appreciation. Because these properties are normally in better areas where new construction is happening, and the best comparables are new construction, the properties appraise like new construction. This means as building costs go up the value of newer properties goes up.

There's one other thing about new construction investment properties, and also important for OOS investors.  The investors I work with find it's easier to find tenants for new properties.  They show well, and they're more desirable for tenants. This makes the job for the property manager easier and we find we can get property management at good rates.

One last benefit at the investors that I have worked with have found, with new construction to keep the builders building they often offer incentives that solve for some of the problems in the market today. We have builders that are able to offer right buy downs that make investing in this market makes sense. They are only able to do this because they are new built. You can't find rate by down to this level on the secondary market.  

All investing has a risk, and while I agree that the best way to start is to buy something in your backyard and manage it yourself to learn the lessons you need to learn. There are many investors that would like to start and because of their W-2 job, they can't or don't want to manage themselves.  this time of investor I believe OOS is a great option and a fantastic way to build wealth.

Thanks for the discussion point and any feedback.

@Eric Fernando,

I can help with some off market properties in the Charlotte area.  

@Jaden Jung,

I have another variation on the turnkey model.  Looked new construction.

New construction offers a few benefits that other turnkey providers don't. New construction you're investing into a property in a good area because it is brand new. You also get the benefit of a new property that will most likely have far less maintenance for the future. Third with newer properties, you normally get better appreciation because your comparables are other new construction.

When I talk to the investors that I work with, they can find turnkey solution to a new construction property that offers them a largely hands-off transaction, and create incentives that they can't find on the MLS. Builders are able to offer rate by downs and sometimes free property management that you just can't find on the open market.

Any of the investors that I have worked with have been so impressed with the process that they've come back for a second third or fourth property.

Best of luck on your next investment.