Decisions, decisions. Horry County oceanfront condos can be extremely lucrative investments depending on your objectives. If you need some help to make an informed and wise decision then contact the professionals at Home Search Simply. This guide can help you navigate this complicated process and help you avoid costly mistakes you might run into along the way. Upon seeing them personally, I can tell you everything from excellent to ugly when it comes to condo investments throughout Myrtle Beach. Once you know the facts, you can make logical choices.
Investing in Grand Strand Condos
There are a plethora of considerations you need to put into action when you are hunting for the perfect myrtle beach investment property. These need to be top of mind when looking whether it's online or in person! The following are the top things we at HomeSearchSimply.com tell our clients to think about when purchasing any investments in the area.
What is your strategy?
This should be the first thing you identify when you start seeking out condos in the Myrtle Beach marketplace. How you rent the property will greatly guide you through the next several questions within this article.
Nowadays, there are a multitude of ways for investments to be successful along the Grand Strand. More than just the on-site management route, their are tons of platforms like AirBNB, VRBO, Booking.com, Travelocity, Furnished Finders, among others to attract and secure rental bookings from guests all over the world. Having a focus on exactly what systems you will utilize prior to searching will make the process much easier after closing.
What is the HOA fee?
This question is the most asked in the condo market. Don't get too caught up on a "pricey" HOA fee. There are many factors that contribute to how much the HOA charges every month and most of them are extremely helpful. What you should be looking at is how much that will impact the potential rental profits on the condo and if it makes for a serious concern or not.
What does the HOA fee include?
This question is more valuable for any investor rather than just seeing the HOA price tag. For example, if you love a unit and the HOA fee is $650 per month, many first time investors will be scared of that number. However, if you dive deeper and find out that the HOA fee covers all the utilities, the cable and wifi, the pest control, elevator, landscape, and pool services, this impacts the reasoning behind the monthly fee and can be extremely helpful!
Rather than having 4 bills and an HOA fee, you should be looking at it as paying all of your monthly utility bills in one payment and compare it to the projected income of the property to check if it would be feasible.
What are the amenities and are there restrictions?
At the end of the day, you want your guests to have an enjoyable time when renting your investment property. The amenities included are a giant part of the cost into the HOA fees but can also be restricted. At HomeSearchSimply.com, our agents always check the validity of the amenities and your guests access to them.
This plays deeper with what type of management you plan on doing. If you decide to let the typical hotel/motel front desk handle your bookings, you will have no worry on what, if any amenities are restricted from access as many of them work cohesively with the building. This question comes into play when you do not want to use the front desk on-site management and use platforms like AirBNB, VRBO, Booking.com etc to generate your rental income. It is always a good question to ask if there are any limitations to amenities prior to your purchase.
Typically, some Myrtle Beach condo buildings will attempt to restrict things such as food & beverage, gym, laundry services, or even particular slides and pools in an attempt to keep the owners within the standard front desk style of renting units. If the income being produced by these front desk management companies are sufficient, it may be an excellent idea to keep letting them fill up your rental calendar!
What does the view look like?
Usually, you can completely turn the interior or a unit into anything you can imagine before you begin renting, with a budget in mind of course. In the recent years, the more unique of a property you offer, the more success you have!
When I first began Real Estate, the one phrase that stuck to me is, you can change almost anything in terms of the inside of your condo, but you can never change the view. Be conscious of this while you are hunting! Is there any planned construction coming? Will I always have this view? What does the unit look at? These are all questions to ask yourself when touring units.
What area is the condo in?
Different areas yield different results, it is plain and simple. Be mindful of the type of crowd you are trying to attract and their demographic so you can appeal correctly. This will have an impact on the rates in which you charge and the likelihood of bookings taken with your Myrtle Beach investment property. Something in one side of town can appeal to a completely different crowd as a few blocks over, keep this in mind and you will narrow your search to find the one you truly love.
What income can I expect from renting this unit?
The rental income is a primary concern for almost every investor in any marketplace. The unique aspect is how today's world is evolving. Not everyone rents the same way, and uses the same type of companies to manage their properties. These variables will all have a strong affect on the success of any investment.
Over the years these different variables of ways to rent has created a different way of looking at investments. Suppose a seller listed their condo for sale and you look at the income numbers and are impressed, then you look at a neighboring unit for sale and the rentals are a lot less. Doing this, like any investor you would feel unsure right? You need to keep in mind that one unit is being rented a completely different way than another.
One seller can be using an on-site rental company and allow the front desk to handle everything, and the other unit could be implementing their own strategy of direct bookings through a created website or strictly using a rental platform for bookings and managing the unit themselves. It is an excellent idea to formulate your strategy prior to searching, know how you want to rent and what systems you plan on using to make that possible.
Are there any Special Assessments in progress or planned?
Special assessments are costs above and beyond the typical HOA fee in order for the building to make needed repairs in general. Whether it be to paint an entire building, upgrade safety practices throughout a building, fix elevators, or create new amenities for guests to enjoy, special assessments happen.
This question is important prior to purchasing any investment condo because it is an expense you will need to account for. A good practice would be for the sellers to pay for any remaining special assessment prior to closing, but knowing of any upcoming assessments planned can help you in the long run.
What does the rental season look like?
This question needs answers in order for to you properly formulate any rental strategy for your investment property. Every marketplace has it's high and low seasons and they need to be considered for an accurate estimate on your condo's potential.
The Grand Strand area typically has it's high seasons from March - October and off seasons November - February. It is important for you to keep that consideration in mind when purchasing an investment in order for success.
Having a strong plan for how your investment will prosper in the off season makes all the difference. Whether it is using it for your family and friends, as a second home, or capturing longer term bookings with winter specials for month to month rentals should be all in your strategy.
How much is a condo in Myrtle Beach?
Despite an increase in the market for real property, sales of Oceanfront property have also increased. The lure of seashores and oceans is never ending. Despite increasing value for oceanside properties the location offers a view of the ocean. If there is doubt about your financial capacity for renting a condo, do not go for it. Pricing of units can vary considerably. Based on what the customer seeks or what the specification is they range between $75,000 all the way to well over $1M. Price will depend on the location of building, construction, condition and upgrades in an area.
We at HomeSearchSimply continuously find new ways to pick the top investment properties on and off the market. Hopefully the list of questions that need to be answered helps you along your way to beach style ownership in the future! Contact us at HomeSearchSimply.com anytime day or night to help you find the investment condo you are looking for!
How is the property zoned?
One big misconception of the area that investors from other markets fail to consider is whether or not the investment is even zoned correctly to entertain the opportunity of short term rentals. Vacation rentals need to meet a criteria set by the city, or county depending on the location that makes the property eligible for short term rentals.
Many clients are solely searching on long term rental properties throughout the area and that is less strenuous of a search, but this question is particularly important to ask prior to gathering together an offer to purchase STR properties with nightly and weekly rentals allowed. I have seen this play out in a negative way throughout the industry and want to save you the hassle and dissapointment!
Besides checking in with the city or county zoning process, if their is an HOA, ALWAYS check the rules and regulations set forth by them. For example, if a property is in the correct zoning and permits short term rentals but the HOA forbids it in their rules, the HOA can overrule the zoning criteria and since you are apart of that regime as a home owner you would have to honor their system of regulation. Again, everybody loses time, money, and opportunity to hunt for correct deals!
Conclusion
I truly believe all of these tips provided will help start your property search off in the right direction. In the end, helping you find your dream home, land, or condo is why we are here at HomeSearchSimply.com. If you have any questions or would like to begin your property search the right way please don't hesitate to call us at 843-902-4325 day or night to make your investment dreams come true!
