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Real Estate Investing – Word From A Wise Man

November 17, 2017 by

Charlotte Real Estate Investing – Set your Goals for 2018

Charlotte Property Management

If you think about it, many very successful people have increased their wealth with Real Estate Investing.  Charlotte Real Estate has a huge market for investors and we can help you pick the right property in the right location.  We have years of experience helping investors make sound decisions on  the right property.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was not a dumb man!  Forget the politics and Look out Donald Trump made his…

Learn More about Real Estate Investing 

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Why Real Estate Investing is Still a Viable Investment Option

October 16, 2017 by

According to Bloomberg news, millennials are not buying homes now because they are leaving school with so much student loan debt it is near impossible for them to qualify for a loan.    Read the article Student Debt a Major reason millennials are not buying homes.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

“As much as 35 percent of the decline in young American homeownership from 2007 to 2015 is due to higher student debt loads, the researchers estimate. The study looked at all 28- to 30-year-olds, regardless of whether they pursued higher education, suggesting that the fall in homeownership among college-goers is likely even greater (close to half of young Americans never attend college).”

What this means for investors of real estate is that young families are going to be renting homes for the foreseeable future.   We are seeing SO many apartment’s being built in the Charlotte area for a reason.  These developers do their homework.   However with a glutton of apartments more and more young families are going to want the family environment with the white picket fence.

Single family homes are going to continue to rent and there is going to be  an abundance of young people want to live in homes with a yard and amenities.    These types of homes, for this reason, are still fantastic options and good investments for real estate investors.

Here at Carolina Living Real Estate and Property Management we specialize in managing single family homes and taking the burden of dealing with day to day, month to month issues owning these homes.  We manage several portfolios’s for investors and they are enjoying the benefit of having virtually zero down time with regard to occupancy.

Are you a new investor or seasoned one looking to purchase more?   Contact us and we can guide you into areas that have great returns and very little vacancy.

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What is the Eviction Process in Charlotte, NC? How Long Does it Take?

September 19, 2017 by

Eviction is a topic that owners often ask about. Fortunately, in the 12 years we’ve been in business at Carolina Living, we have only had to evict a tenant three times. That’s a pretty good record. But, we do keep up with the laws, and we do know what is required to remove a tenant through the eviction process.

Eviction Process Charlotte, NC: Serve Notice

Verify first whether your tenant is a veteran. The courts require this. Then, you have to send the tenant a 10 Day Letter. This is for nonpayment of rent, which is most common type of eviction. The tenants will typically have the first five days of a month to pay. If you have reached the sixth day and you have not received rent, you can send a 10 Day Letter demanding that rent be paid or the property be vacated.

Property Management Charlotte: Writ of Possession

Once the 10-day period is up, the next step in the tenant eviction process is to go to the courthouse and file for a Writ of Possession. You can ask for rent that is owed and the removal of the tenants from the property. Then, you’re at the mercy of the courts, and you wait for a court date. Usually, you’ll get your court date within 5 to 7 days. The magistrate hears both sides and makes a determination on possession and any money owed. Sometimes, the magistrate will offer the tenant an opportunity to pay and get caught up. However if you have proof that the tenant has not paid, you will usually gain possession of your property. The tenant then has 10 days to appeal.

How to Evict a Tenant: Obtaining Possession

After the appeal process has run through the 10 days, you can hire the sheriff to lock your tenants out of the property. Meet the sheriff there, and have a locksmith ready. The sheriff will make sure everyone is out, and you can change the locks.

There are other rules involved in the eviction process, especially if furniture and belongings are left behind. Overall, the process takes between 30 and 45 days. That’s not as long as many people fear, but it’s never a good experience. If you do things correctly and you’re prepared for court and have documentation, it’s a fairly simple process.

If you need help evicting a tenant or with anything pertaining to Charlotte property management, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Carolina Living Real Estate.

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What is Considered Normal Wear and Tear? Charlotte Property Management

August 30, 2017 by

 

Normal wear and tear is a subject that comes up every time a tenant moves out of a property. We have learned that if you communicate the normal wear and tear definition up front with tenants and owners, life is easier for all parties. [Read more…]

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Why Owners Choose Carolina Living Real Estate – Charlotte Property Management

August 22, 2017 by


At Carolina Living Real Estate, we manage single family homes in the Charlotte area, from points north to Lake Norman, points south to Lake Wylie and Valentine, and points east to Kannapolis and Concord. Today, I want to tell you a little bit about our company and share what I think are some of the benefits to working with us. These points are based on feedback we’ve received from current owners and owners who have come to us from other property management companies.

Property Management Charlotte: Communication

Communication is something we’ve been praised for providing and something that clients from other companies have complained about not receiving. A lot of owners said they never heard from their property managers. We believe strongly in communicating up front. If you set expectations, you create a smooth situation for everyone. A good example is wear and tear on your property. We communicate expectations to both owners and tenants, and have documentation to support that communication. This is critical and eliminates a battle at the end of at tenancy with security deposits.

Property Management Charlotte: Maintenance Procedures and Costs

Many larger companies dispatch their maintenance people without talking to you about what’s needed, and you don’t hear about problems or expenses until the end of the month. We talk to you first, in case you have your own solution you’d like to try. When something needs to be repaired or replaced at your home, we want to create a good situation for owners and tenants. This helps our relationship. We can work with warranty companies or explore any avenues and options that you request. Providing good maintenance comes down to communication and the amount of money it costs to take care of repairs. We don’t charge you when we send people out. You pay only for what the repairs cost.

Property Management Charlotte: Leasing Fees

We do not charge an exorbitant amount to find you a tenant. You’ll see leasing fees of half a month’s rent with other management companies. The most you’ll be charged with us is 20 percent, and that pays for an external company bringing us a tenant if that’s how we locate a qualified renter.

We aren’t a large company. We manage about 100 homes, and that benefits you because we are closely involved with you and your property and everything that goes on there. We work hard.

Communication, maintenance, and your money are important things to take care of for you. We’d love to tell you more about our Charlotte property management services, so please contact us at Carolina Living Real Estate.

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Why Should You Buy a Charlotte Rental Property with a Loan? Charlotte Property Management Advice

July 17, 2017 by

Buying Charlotte Rental Property with a Loan? Carolina Living Real Estate Property Management Advice

Are you an investor evaluating whether to buy Charlotte Investment Property with cash?  Is that even an option for you?  Buying the right Charlotte investment home with a loan makes a lot of sense too. That’s because you’re buying an appreciating asset that grows in value over time while a tenant pays your mortgage. The return on that investment can be very good.

Down Payments and Rental Income

Let’s look at an example.,Consider a home priced at $200,000. An investor looking for a mortgage will most likely need to put down 25 percent of the purchase price. That’s $50,000 for the down payment, leaving you with a mortgage loan of $150,000. The Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance monthly payment will run in the neighborhood of $1,050 a month. Choosing the right property with our assistance will allow the rent you earn on that property will easily cover those costs.   With our deal analyzer we can walk through these costs and potential rents to ensure that you are positioning yourself for success.

Appreciation Estimates

Even more exciting than what you earn in rent is what you are earning for the future. If the property in this example appreciates at three percent per annually, the home would have an estimated value of $231,000 after five years. That’s an appreciation of $31,000.  This gain compared to the original $50,000 investment you made equates to a 62 percent return on investment. We invite you to find a better return with any investment vehicle.  It’s also worth noting that the three percent appreciation rate is very conservative. Last year, values grew at better than 5 percent. In our market, there’s usually an annual gain of four percent or higher.

Carolina Living Real Estate Property Management

If you’re thinking about buying investment property or you already own some then please consider joining the Carolina Living Real Estate Property Management family. Call us today to learn why over 90% of our clients are Referrals from past and current customers. You’ll be glad you did.

Note:  If you own multiple properties as us about negotiating our rate to manage your portfolio.

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Property Condition DOES Matter – Charlotte Property Management

June 7, 2017 by

Does Property Condition Matter? – Charlotte Property Management Experience says:

Some rental owners are what we call accidental landlords who end up renting a property because they couldn’t sell it for one of numerous reasons. In these situations, money is often an issue. Even on a budget, it’s important ready the home for another family to move in as a rental.

Charlotte Property Management: Make it Look Nice

We have found that many of the owners in these situations know of cosmetic issues but they don’t want to spend the money to fix them. The most common issues are carpet stains and wall marks. Frequently there are other items that need attention that the need attention but it did not bother the owner while living there.  However, most likely it will bother a prospective tenant. Too often, these owners don’t want to spend the money to address these issues, and they want to rent the property as-is. It may seem like you’re saving money with this approach, but the reality is that its not.

Charlotte Property Management: Everyone wants a quality Tenant 

The reality is that Property Condition and quality tenants go hand in hand. Think this through carefully. You want to consider the tenant who would be willing to rent the property in as-is condition. It’s not likely that they have good standards themselves or they will have the mindset that the owner does not care so why should they. Our Charlotte landlord advice is simple: deliver a product in great shape to get the highest possible rent and quality tenants. The investment you make on those cosmetic repairs will be well worth the money and the time.

Charlotte Property Management: Holding Tenants Accountable

We require the tenant to return the property in the same condition it was delivered to them, and we hold them accountable, as we should. So it’s important to do the right thing and present a property that the tenant is proud to call home. If you want to get the home returned to you in excellent condition, you need to make sure the home you hand over to the tenant is in excellent condition.  We have even created a document to be signed by all parties that are specific about what is and what isn’t normal wear and tear.

 

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Do Owners Need To Fix That Appliance? Charlotte Property Management

May 30, 2017 by

We get asked all the time by our owners if they are required to fix certain appliances. The ones most asked about are washer and dryers,  garbage disposals and refrigerators.

According to the North Carolina Landlord Tenants Rights Brochure, the Secretary of State defines this part of Landlord Responsibilities the following way:

“Maintain in good and safe working order and promptly repair all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and other facilities and appliances supplied or required to be supplied by him provided that notification of needed repairs is made to the landlord in writing by the tenant except in emergency situations. “

The key to the above statement is what we highlighted.    Some of our investor clients have chosen to remove things like garbage disposals because they tend to go bad and/or get clogged.    Obviously, if you do not supply one you don’t have to fix it.   However, you need to keep in mind that to get the homes rented, you need to supply some things that tenants typically do not have.   These include microwaves, refrigerators and  HVAC systems.

The other thing we get asked is this.  Can we supply the appliances and then put in the lease, “Supplied but not supported or fixed”.   The easy answer is that we can try.  However, if a tenant questions it and takes it to court, the above statement from the attorney general will most likely take precedence.

Hopefully this helps.   If you are looking for a fair knowledgeable Charlotte Property Management company, ask us for help!

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What Exactly IS Normal Wear and Tear – Charlotte Property Management

May 9, 2017 by

So, Here it is!  The question we get asked the most from our owners!   Even the definition leaves us dizzy!  Websters:

 “The loss, injury, or stress to which something is subjected by or in the course of use; especially normal depreciation.”

However, what is normal depreciation to the owner may not be to the tenant.    Even though we are in Charlotte NC, Texas may have defined it in a better way:

“…deterioration that results from the intended use of a dwelling…but term does not include deterioration that results from negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse of the premises, equipment or personal property by the tenant, by a member of the tenant’s household or by a guest of the tenant.”

One of the best ways to look at this is evaluation the most asked about real world examples:

Landlord Responsibility Tenant Responsibility
A few small nail holes, chips, smudges, dents, scrapes, or cracks in the walls Gaping holes in walls from abuse, accidents, or neglect. Unapproved paint colors or unprofessional paint jobs. Dozens of nail holes which need patching and repainting.
Carpet faded or worn thin from walking Holes, stains, or burns in carpet. Food stains, urine stains, and leaky fish tanks.
Faded Paint Water damage on wall from hanging plants or constant rubbing of furniture.
Scuffed varnish on wood floors from regular use Chipped or gouged wood floors, or excessive scraps from pet nails

Those are just some of the most FAQ’s.   We recently had a situation where the tenant attempted to fix the nail holes and scuff marks themselves and did touch up paint.  On one had they did try to make things right.  On the other hand, the touch up paint did not match and and actually made it harder to fix.  This one had owners worried that the tenant would dispute their holding some of the funds but at the end of the day, it went beyond what was normal.

We have found that for tenants that try to do the right thing should always communicate before trying anything.   At the end of the day, however, tenants really know when they the damage is excessive but it does not prevent them from complaining about it.

Contact us, we can help with this stuff!  We do the research and have real world examples on how magistrates might rule!

 

 

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Charlotte Property Management Eases The Pain For Landlords

April 13, 2017 by

Whether your looking for Lake Norman Property Management or Charlotte Property Management, the fears are all the same.  Landlords today whether they are investors  or not are just trying to increase the bottom line. Most non investor landlords today fall into two categories.

1. They realize they are upside down and do not want to sell their home and have to bring a big wad of cash with them.

2. They have equity in their home but have spent too much of their own time and money not get compensated for their efforts and investment.

In both scenarios, the owners have tremendous fear in allowing someone else to live in their home. This is where Carolina Living  comes in.

We sit down with everyone one of our homeowners before they rent and we explain the process and more importantly we set expectations. Most people can handle most things whey they are prepared in advance.

In our experience, the first 30-60 days are the hardest for the landlord. We spend time explaining why this is the case.

We talk to our homeowners about insurance, our handyman services and we give advice on how to mitigate some of the fears.

In this market, many companies/agents have dived in this business but have no experience to prepare homeowners for what happens and what we can do as a team to allow them to sleep at night!

We do are best to try and prepare you for what is to come. This makes everyone’s lives a little easier.

We also work with numerous Charlotte area Investors.   We manage portfolio of homes and are more than willing to negotiate our fees based on multiple properties.  We have been told by multiple investors that what they like best about us is our size ( small to medium with about 100 homes under management) and our willingness to tailor our services to their needs.   The larger companies may have very strict procedures in place but that does not always work for every investor.   To discuss our services further, please call us with no obligation at 704-755-5308.

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