All Forum Posts by: Tom ONeil

Does anyone have a good connection for an engineer or design-build construction firm to do a plan and/or feasibility study? We have a 3.5 acre lot that is zoned for about 60 units that we are looking to develop (not necessarily 60 units, probably 30-40) and are looking to engage with a company that can review planning and zoning requirements and help us with design work to submit for approval in Clover, SC.

Thanks all!

Yes, you will have to see if there are any restrictions in the CC&Rs and Community By-Laws. Many times they will stipulate the shortest term of rental that an owner can do. If interested, PM me the community and I will see if I can find those for you.

Could be what his company requires, but I know of investors (myself included) who purchased their first investment loans with 20% down conventional loan. Of course, mine was like 8 years ago.

Loving this thread! Glad to see you guys all so willing to connect and help each other out. If you have any questions I am more than happy to help. I have rentals in Steele Creek and Gastonia, although I don't know Gastonia as well I am optimistic on the market there. 

Welcome to the world or Real Estate!

@Kim Dean How long it takes each agent to become comfortable in completing agent activities and successful from an income standpoint comes down to a few different factors.

Each person will pick up the filling out contracts and negotiating repairs aspect differently. Personally, that is my strong suit so after about 5 transactions I was comfortable with every contract, negotiating terms, repairs, etc. One thing to remember is each contract is going to be different so you have to be able to be a bit dynamic there.

Success from an income standpoint is going to depend on what you need to earn to be successful. I am in a similar position to @Mike Roy where I had and continue to manage my own rental properties as a way to provide income during the transition. Some individuals will need to make $30k to be successful in their eyes, others will need to make $200k to be successful. The more important aspect and what will drive and motivate you is the reason why you need to make a certain amount.

Success and speed to success is largely based on your network. Whether that is your current network or your ability to go out and build a large one quickly will be key, having a larger network will help you grow more quickly. Not just a network of clients, but also allied resources such as inspectors, lenders, repair people, attorneys, basically any other industry you will be interacting with on a regular basis as an agent. It is key that you let everyone in your current network know what you are doing and that you are an agent.

Honestly from a time commitment standpoint your start to the career will be generating leads. Most recommend 3-4 hours per day generating leads and the remainder of your day to appointments and servicing your current clients. If you don't have appointments or clients to service, continue to lead generate. This is where your flexibility comes in, is your lead generation time. As far as servicing clients and appointments, those are the LEAST flexible, because a lot of time we are bending to our client's will to fit into their schedule. 

With the right motivation and activity, I have seen agents become very successful producing agents in their first 3 months. We like to say, "What you do today impacts your business 90 days from now." Other agents who aren't as committed to the activities, it can take a year or more. It really just depends on the individual. Let me know if you have any questions, I am more than happy to answer!

@Michael Boylan depending on what areas of Charlotte or what suburbs you are looking in, there are still some opportunities for Cash Flowing deals. If you were to house hack, I would expect that having individual roommates would cover more of your mortgage and actually allow you to save more than renting with roommates. 

For example (I haven't looked a lot into this area, but just a quick MLS Search), Fairies Farm near UNCC, if you were to purchase a 3/2 for $178,000 with $15k down, your all in cost (PITI) would probably be somewhere in the $1100 per month range. If you can get 2 roommates to pay $500 a month each and you guys split utilities as opposed to splitting $1200 a month rent 3 ways (your rental comps in this neighborhood are $1200-1300 per year. If you do move out after a year you COULD have positive cash flow, depending on your maintenance, vacancy, management (if you do decide to use a manager), etc.

Like Elliott stated, you have to start running some comparisons for where you would like to live and see if the numbers make sense. If you're trying to buy something in Uptown, NoDa, South End, Elizabeth, not a good chance of it working out.

@Patrick McCabe I'm not an accountant but I don't see anyone answering your actual question. 

Yes, you can claim those expenses you mentioned (ITI and depreciation) as losses against that property. Since you have no income to deduct those expenses from, they will be carried forward to future years (carry-over losses). The way my accountant explained it to me is that each property is more or less considered and individual business so losses will carry forward until you sell (or they are offset by gains). When you sell, any carry over losses that remain can be deducted from your overall income for that year.

Again, check with an accountant, but that is how mine explained it and what was done when I experimented (and completely failed) with a VRBO property.

@Ashley Massis Class Always glad to help!

@Ashley Massis Class if you are dividing into more than four lots (I think, don't quote me) there are a lot of other requirements because at that point they consider you a "subdivision". If you are dividing a lot into four or less, it is determined by the zoning of the lot. You need to divide and maintain the required density. For example, the lot I was looking at was zoned R-5, meaning you can have 5 lots per acre (every county has different names for their zoning codes too). In order to divide that single lot into 3 lots, the minimum starting lot size would have to be 0.6 acres, or 26,136 sq ft.

Since nobody answered and in case someone in the future has the same question, here is what I found.

Basically call the zoning department. They are more than willing to work with you to see if what you want to subdivide will qualify based on current zoning. If it looks like it can, a surveyor can go out, survey and they also verify it complies with zoning, and they submit the new plat maps directly to Mecklenburg County. It is a lot easier than I thought, but unfortunately the lot I was looking at was about 500 sq ft too small to divide 3 ways and dividing it into 2 didn't make as much sense.