All Forum Posts by: Troy Gandee

@Jacob Song I live and work in Charleston. Charleston is one of the more expensive markets in the South. You can definitely get yourself something here for 30k, but it won't be much. It also definitely be a D class neighborhood. Once you break through the veil here, you can do great, but it's tough to get started with the prices and competition in the Charleston market at the moment.

@Stephen Vetek knows that taxes in SC are higher than NC for non-owner occupied properties.

Welcome to BP @Samuel Edwards. Good luck with everything. Use your time in the beginning to learn as much as possible, but don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed with all of the info. I started my career in this industry at a young age and it does allow you a lot of flexibility that many folks do not have. I'm a Realtor and investor. Let me know if you ever need a Realtor.

@Alex Franks let me know if I can help!

Hi @Robert Lytle. The Charleston area is still a great market, but you've got to be incredibly quick on the draw. It's easier than ever to sell a rehab. The problem is finding an equitable deal. @Chris Armstrong is exactly right. There are 40 something families a day moving here and it's making our inventory slim. I'm also a Realtor, so I keep an eye on the inventory. There are people buying houses that they have no business buying. People are buying tear-downs because they can't find a decent SFD. And traffic is absolutely horrible here now. It's been getting increasingly worse, but it's really bad now. You can still find deals on the MLS, but they go in a day. You have to be ready to make an offer the day it hits the market. The best way to find good deals is to befriend wholesalers, but even a lot of those guys are having a hard time finding deals lately.

Goo job @Mike Nicholson. I rehab properties all over the Charleston area. I have an offer out on one in Crowfield Plantation and I'm hoping to secure it. That's a good little market.

Hi @Elizabeth Ward. Welcome to the site and welcome to real estate investing. I wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your new purchase. I'm a Realtor and investor in Charleston, SC. I would be happy to help if you ever needed any assistance in this area. 

Hi @Mike Goldberg. Welcome to BiggerPockets. You'll find a wealth of knowledge here. You can always  ask questions to the forums and get informative answers from people that have been in the industry for some time. The Charleston area is an incredibly strong market at the moment. It's actually pretty difficult for us investors to find good deals right now. It takes a lot more digging that usual. I'm a Realtor and I would be pleased to help you out if you ever need anything as far as agency goes. I wish you luck. Feel free to let me know if you ever need anything!

I agree @Jay Hinrichs. If we keep going like this for years, I think we may hit some kind of impasse largely because of lack of inventory (at least in the Charleston market, which is the epitome of a hot market for many reasons). Most of the folks that I represent are securing very manageable and reasonable loans with quite stringent qualifications. There is a lot of cash moving around here and I see very few scary loans in the area here.

@Melissa N. I'm a broker in SC and I've never heard of that issue with EM. Our LLR has started to crack down more recently and they're auditing offices more than they used to. However, I have never heard there be a minimum amount necessary in an escrow account. Like @Jay Hinrichs said, we don't have any hard rules in SC for EM. The seller decides whether or not X amount is sufficient and it's usually just in increments of 1k, 5k or 10k depending on the purchase price. I agree with @Wayne Brooks that you should just ask the seller what amount they need and then I would have your attorney hold it. I normally try to have the closing attorney hold EMD anyways. I'm not a commercial broker, but I'm very familiar with commercial word. I'm in the process of trying to get more involved in the commercial market.