All Forum Posts by: Tracey Callison

Sounds good! I live in hope valley and know that area pretty well, but I can’t afford to start here :) 

@Eric Weireter I’d also be interested in a drive through, available from 12/28.

@Josh R. Very likely to be there!

Nolan- thanks! I had read that and it helped but I still don’t know where to find the ‘ratings’ for my area. I know they already exist- there is a great gif that shows the flow and change of area designations for about five years- but I don’t know where that data came from. (The gif makers claimed publicly sourced data but then we are back to the ‘formula’- I’ve looked at the same data sites and it’s metrics like % of households that need significant repairs, etc.)

I guess the answer is ‘everybody does it for themselves’, but it seems super wasteful to try and recreate it on my own when there are hundreds of investors in this area who have probably already done it. 

So I’m explicitly looking for a zoned map of the Durham area over the past five years, give or take. Does it exist? Are there zones maps for other areas? Raleigh, Greensboro)

I have a similar question! I hear everybody talking about B or C neighborhoods, but how is that determined? There was a neat gif showing rating change over time for my area, and I found the ‘source’ for the data, but nowhere it’s compiled. Like, certain crime rates, housing needing repairs, etc but what makes that a C or a D? Is it just a real estate broker jargon thing? I’m driving the neighborhoods I’m interested in investing in but I don’t know where the lines are, but I’m guessing insurers and brokers do! How do I find out?

I’ll be there!

@Igor S. I would be quite interested!

Welcome! I am in Durham and am saving up money for my first investment. If you need boots on the ground, I’m interested in going through the process and learning!

What times does it run? I could get there around 9 after work. 

@Derek Daun

I agree that it’s more an art than a science. We bought 12 years ago in a stable neighborhood between two fast-growing municipalities, so pricing has gotten very competitive. We wanted to refi and use the money to pay off everything else (student loans, repairs, leftover debt from a startup). the first lender used a non-local appraiser who used comps in neighborhoods on the other side of town that were nowhere like ours. It’s hard to find comps here, as we are the smallest home on the street (3/2, most are 4-5/3), but the number was insultingly low.

Decided to try again with a local lender; we were able to time it so our house had been repainted before it was done and did some yard work— 3K paint job brought us up 80K in appraised value. The local guy knew the neighborhood and area well and was able to find true comps.

I keep a running search in Zillow for our zip and flag everything that looks comparable so I’ll have a list ready to go when we need it. I definitely feel like using a local credit union made a difference.