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I'm moving to Durham, and the intermediate-term plan is to find a lot and build a custom home. Problem is, my job will require me to start in mid-march, long before the house will be ready. So I think I'll buy a house in town, and when my house is ready, rent out the first house. Where would be a good place to buy a house if I knew I was going to rent it out?
saturnfan makes some valid points, but they seem self-evident enough that I guess I'd assume you've already considered them. If so, and you are intending to buy a house to live in at first and then later rent-out, I could see quite a few parts of Durham as being potentially good locations. If I recall from your previous thread, there was some uncertainty about the exact location of your job here. Has that been straightened out? Are there any specific part or parts of Durham that it would be handy or desirable for you to be near, for work reasons or any other reasons?
Yeah, I had considered saturn's points, but I know a good and cheap property management form, and i'd be living in the house about 5 months give or take, so I assume most apartments would want at least a year lease.
Yeah, I had considered saturn's points, but I know a good and cheap property management form, and i'd be living in the house about 5 months give or take, so I assume most apartments would want at least a year lease.
Heck, it will take until Mid-March to close on a house with all the hoops you have to go through, even if you are self financed. The 6 month apartment lease would be simplest.
I'll second that many apartments in the triangle do a 6 month lease for only about 50-75 dollars more a month, even if they don't advertise it, and some of them are quite nice. Just a thought.
If you still want to buy to turn into a rental, be aware that you probably won't be able to sell that house and make money on it for quite some time, and even as a rental with income coming in on it, it may be very hard to buy another home should you decide to while you still own that one.
I'd hold off on becoming a landlord until you know the real estate market well.
But, in general, anything near Duke is going to be better for rentals. However, it's very neighborhood dependent. I know an area where houses rent for $13 sf/yr on one block and $8 sf/yr on the next block. And it's really hard to tell the difference between the two blocks.
Somewhere with a relatively easy commute to Duke or UNC would likely have the best demand for tenants, though that may not be as convenient for you getting to Morrisville. There are a good number of UNC folks who live in south Durham, though the newer developments may have HOA restrictions on rentals. That may be closer for you commute-wise than near Duke (though the shot down 147 isn't bad.) As pp's have stated, it can be really hard to recommend a broad area for you to look, so a good buyer's agent with knowledge of those areas is going to be invaluable.
I'd hold off on becoming a landlord until you know the real estate market well.
But, in general, anything near Duke is going to be better for rentals. However, it's very neighborhood dependent. I know an area where houses rent for $13 sf/yr on one block and $8 sf/yr on the next block. And it's really hard to tell the difference between the two blocks.
When you start dealing with students, your exposure to problems with bad tenants can dramatically increase. My father-in-law was an apartment super, and you would be horrified to see the damaged units I helped him repair.
A co-worker had a property she wanted to rent and hired a well known management company to handle rentals. When an applicant (ex-felon) didn't qualify, the management firm allowed his girlfriend to be leaseholder.
The tenants needed to be evicted for nonpayment, and the legal fees plus damage exceeded $14K. Not a cent was recovered from the tenants.
Do you really want to be a landlord?
Best wishes.
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