All Forum Posts by: Troy Gandee

@Chris Armstrong I would highly recommend that you give Russ your info. He's always marketing for properties. 

Hi @Chris Armstrong. My name is Troy Gandee. I'm a Realtor and investor in the Charleston area. There are a lot of investors in this area and there are a lot of different groups that you can network with. I fix and flip 2-4 per year and have rental properties. 

Welcome to BP and to Charleston. This is a great market for real estate, though it's definitely very competitive and expensive recently. 

If you ever need a Realtor, feel free to let me know. I'm happy to answer any questions or give you any advice. Just shoot me a message on BP or send me an email. Good luck!

@Ben Leybovich @Jay Hinrichs

Myself and my Mother spent a small fortune on my philosophy degree, environmental studies minor and english minor from a great liberal arts university in Charleston, SC. While I'll never actually make a dime from philosophy, I did learn logic, abstract thinking, how to systemize anything and generally how to think anything into oblivion. I am very happy that I studied what I did for many reasons. 

However, I'm now a Realtor/Investor. Those college years are 4 years that I could have spent mastering a craft, honing a skill or building a business. I absolutely think that most of the Gurus are garbage, but it's half the price of going to college and it can kick your career into gear. If you find the right educational organization, it could be invaluable. Even if you don't start making millions, at least it will expand your experience and knowledge base.

I'm not a success story yet, but so far I've done alright for 27. I badgered @Jay Hinrichs when he was in town just to sit down with him for 10 minutes in the lobby at the airport. It absolutely depends on the person. It's totally subjective.

I'm not a success story yet, but so far I've done ok for 27. Much of that has been because I jump into things without overwhelming heed and I'm obsessive. I badgered @Jay Hinrichs for two days just to meet him in the lobby at the airport and talk for 10 minutes when he was in town this week. It really just depends on the individual. Like most things, it's subjective. Unfortunately, one thing that my generation does lack is the understanding that attending and getting the "certificate" does not automatically make you successful. Some of that confusion is societal and some of it is just laziness and expectance. 

SFDs for now, but I plan on getting some multi-families after I refinance these. You can absolutely do that. I can set you up some searches if you'll PM me your email and some criteria.

It is definitely a struggle sometimes. My properties and tenants are great, but they're familiar with the area. The growth and change here is staggering, though. It won't be much longer until the scales start to tip. There are around 40 families moving here every day and we just don't have the space for everyone, so neighborhoods like that are going to start improving whether they like it or now. The extent to which they improve is still to be determined. I'm actually living in this area until we close our new property. I probably couldn't have comfortably lived in this neighborhood 5 years ago. We've had very minimal problems and our neighbors (with a couple of exceptions) are great. I lived downtown all throughout college in neighborhoods that other people ran away from, so I'm a little more forgiving than most. You just have to be conscientious. 

Hey @Spencer AckersI think you can pull it off. It just may take some sacrifice. There's a lot going on in that area with Boeing expanding. I actually have a couple of rentals further South on Dorchester. That area is a lower class neighborhood, but it's closer to town and should come around in time. My girlfriend and I are actually buying a new primary up Dorchester a little past the AFB around the beginning of April hopefully. My rentals are in my name and it's throwing some of my DTI off. I know the area quite well and I have a lot of hope for it. There are a lot of blue collar families through that stretch and they make for good tenants. You will also need to be diligent about screening your tenants since there are still many bad eggs. I'm a Realtor, also. I would be happy to help you farm the area.

@Ashleigh EvansThere are a couple of different REIAs in town. They're all good, but they're each more focused on different things. You should just try a couple of them out until you find the one that you like. I attended a lot of events the first couple of years that I was around. I kind of petered off because I got really busy and just never really went back. The evenings are hard for me because I'm a Realtor, too and I have a lot of administrative stuff that I have to get done in the evening. Congratulations on the house! Let me know if you have any questions about anything throughout the process!

Hi @David BuckleyWelcome to the community. Charleston is a great market. You'll find a lot of helpful and informative folks both in the Charleston area and on BiggerPockets. I would take @Russ Scheiderup on his invitation. He is also a wholesale in the area and really encourages a supportive atmosphere amongst investors here. I am a Realtor and I would be pleased to help you if you need any agent representation. 

Hey @Bobby HolleyHmm... That's a tough one, man. I recently had a confusing one similar to this. I had a rehab listed and a neighbor called to ask if I would want to buy her house because she wanted to be in a better house. Fortunately, the comps were starting to creep upward, so I was able to buy her out of her mortgage and only had to put around 5k into the house. It's under contract now in and I should make a little something. The whole project only took 4 months. I was then able to help the seller find another house and represent her as her buyer's agent. It worked out pretty well. I wouldn't go the hard money route, either but you may be able to get a bridge/transactional loan if the timing is short enough. The interest can be pretty brutal, though. You should touch your sphere of influence and see if maybe you can get your hands on some private money with a fair return to your lender. You probably know someone with a retirement account that they may be willing to tap if you secure them with a mortgage. There is going to be a whole lot of moving parts here and things could go sideways quickly. If your friends in Charleston are interested in buying, I would be happy to reach out to them. Maybe looking at properties here would motivate them on the selling side. 

Hi @Ashleigh Evans

Welcome to BP and real estate investing. You'll find this place to be a great resource for real estate and investing information. There are tons of things to read and lots of people to talk to. I'm a Realtor and investor. I would be happy to help if you have any questions or need an agent for anything. You should also check out the BP podcast and maybe get your hands on a couple of their beginner's investing books.

-Troy