The cost of renting a house, apartment, condo, or townhome is on the rise nationwide and in North Carolina. These trends are also impacting the Greenville housing and rental market.

According to a new study from online marketplace and rental platform, Apartment List, the average cost of rent in the City of Greenville has increased 0.5% over the past month. Rents increased by 1.7% when comparing costs to July of last year.

The study goes on to calculate the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Greenville at $690 and $880 for a two-bedroom apartment in Greenville. Bennett Properties, a Greenville property investment and management company, reports that its rental costs fall in line with the city-wide average with various amenities and updates.

Bennett Properties owns six properties in Greenville. Affordability and accessibility are important values to owner, Andrew Bennett. He remembers the struggle of finding a place to live while attending East Carolina University for his master’s and doctoral programs.  During the years of 2007 to 2013, Bennett moved seven times in hopes of finding a nicer home that was affordable and close to campus. 

Bennett’s poor renting experience in the Greenville area inspired him to develop his own property management company to enhance the experience of local students and young professionals. He strives to keep costs low, while giving renters clean, fresh, and modernized spaces to call home. Units with Bennett Properties include stainless steel appliances, renovated kitchens and bathrooms, newly installed flooring, and enhanced lighting. The properties with backyards are well-kept by a local landscape company at no additional cost to the tenant.

All of Bennett Properties’ units are pet friendly without any size restrictions. Bennett understands the many benefits of pet ownership as he is a proud “dog-dad” to two mix-breed dogs. Bennett Properties is a community partner and supporter of local animal rescue efforts. Unfortunately, pets are often surrendered or abandoned by their owner if the animal is not welcome in a rental property. Bennett is pleased to offer his tenants the opportunity of living with their furry family member in a comfortable and safe environment.

Due to the increasing interest of online property research and comparison, Bennett Properties is now offering virtual 3-D tours of select units. If interested in renting an available property in the future, contact Andrew Bennett at BennettPropertiesNC@gmail.com

Over the past few months, Drew has been hard a work on a foreclosure he is in the process of flipping. I've been helping with designs, paint colors, and offering my, at times unsolicited, opinions. 

Now for the fun part of creating the whitewash.

I mixed white latex paint and water together in a small bucket. The consistency which worked for me was about 60% paint and 40% water.... give or take. I totally didn't measure.

As far as application, I used a cheap 4" wide brush for the initial application. I also used a 2" brush to get into the crevices and to neatly paint along the sides/floor/wall near the painter's tape.

Warning: This gets super messy.

Watered down paint means it will splash easily. My advice to you it to wear old clothes that will be ruined. I also wore latex gloves in hopes of saving my manicure.

Start at the top and work your way down. I read plenty of blogs about working brick-by-brick.

Yeah, not happening.

I'm a messy painter and this fireplace turned out great so don't worry about going brick-by-brick. If you work in sections, you'll get the job done just fine.

Once you paint the vicinity of 8 or so bricks, get your rag and start dabbing or rubbing. Basically like you're trying to "wash off" the paint. Don't actually wash it off, just enough for it to look faded.

As you continue working in sections, you will notice the paint in previous sections start to absorb. This will make it look lighter... and more dirty than white.

Do. Not. Panic.
This is normal!

Continue working through your first coat knowing you will need a second coat.

After the first coat, I stepped back and let it dry for about 30 minutes.

Then, I started the second coat, working again in sections from top to bottom.

During the second coat, I concentrated a little more in dabbing the rag in the cracks and crevices so the grey mortar wasn't such a contrast but I didn't want to overdo it.

We think this fireplace is a great accent to the other white details in the home! The living room opens into the kitchen so the whitewash will complement the white custom kitchen island. The stain of the wooden mantlepiece will also match the stain of the custom wooden coffee bar.

We hope the future buyers can appreciate the touches of DIY and custom design!

Follow along on Instagram for more photos, videos, and stories from this flip house!