Looking for some insight and info on out of state investing, specifically in Atlanta, Georgia. My sister is out there who would move into one of the units and oversee the property.
Anyone familiar with the Atlanta market? How could I spot a good deal? Any info would be helpful! First time investor and newbie to real estate.
I second @Joseph Firmin, Atlanta is an incredibly diverse MSA with something for practically any type of investor. This is a blessing and a curse, sort of like having a million options on Netflix. You will first need to decide what strategy you wish to utilize. It sounds like this will be some kind of small multifamily house hack-adjacent? You could even do a single family that has a mother-in-law suite. In my opinion, this is the way to go right now since supply of these types of properties is much much higher than small MF supply right now. Also, this way you can find a 3 or 4 br house that has a small 1/1 apartment ADU/basement. This way you are not losing a significant chunk of your rental income by letting your sister stay (unsure if you plan to have her pay any rent).
So, once you have a good idea of what you're looking for you will want to start researching some of the different markets. Is there a specific area your sister would like to live? What kind of cash flow are you looking for? Do you prefer to shoot for appreciation? These questions will begin to filter your options down to specific Atlanta towns and neighborhoods.
It's impossible to explain how you could go about finding a good deal here without knowing more about what you're looking for, but I think this should get you started. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have more questions or just want to chat about the Atlanta market!
Rental Property Investor · Smyrna, GA · Member since 2018 · 974 posts · 645 votes
5y
Hi @Madelin Mendoza! There are lots of great investors here in the Atlanta area. I'd familiarize myself with the market and all the submarkets and pockets around the city - there are lots. Invest for cash flow first, so investigate what rents are going for for the type of asset you're interested in for the particular submarket. Once you understand the rents for an area, you can run your numbers on a specific property to determine the profitability of it. Competition is high in ATL so get a good agent who can find the type of asset you're looking for specifically.
I second @Joseph Firmin, Atlanta is an incredibly diverse MSA with something for practically any type of investor. This is a blessing and a curse, sort of like having a million options on Netflix. You will first need to decide what strategy you wish to utilize. It sounds like this will be some kind of small multifamily house hack-adjacent? You could even do a single family that has a mother-in-law suite. In my opinion, this is the way to go right now since supply of these types of properties is much much higher than small MF supply right now. Also, this way you can find a 3 or 4 br house that has a small 1/1 apartment ADU/basement. This way you are not losing a significant chunk of your rental income by letting your sister stay (unsure if you plan to have her pay any rent).
So, once you have a good idea of what you're looking for you will want to start researching some of the different markets. Is there a specific area your sister would like to live? What kind of cash flow are you looking for? Do you prefer to shoot for appreciation? These questions will begin to filter your options down to specific Atlanta towns and neighborhoods.
It's impossible to explain how you could go about finding a good deal here without knowing more about what you're looking for, but I think this should get you started. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have more questions or just want to chat about the Atlanta market!
Investor · Leander, TX · Member since 2016 · 296 posts · 402 votes
5y
It always depends on your funding, qualifying for a loan, or finding a lender, but the East Point, GA. area by the Atlanta Airport, is hot and in high demand.
Currently no rentals available it that area, which shows you the demand to be there.
I have one property there (4 bed, 2.5 bath, 2,100 sq. ft. built 2018), rented out immediately when I put it on the market for $1,470. Bought the property for $150,900 bet I could sell it for over $200K now.
@Account Closed Thanks for this! Do investors buy single family homes in East Point? I didn't see many multi-family, but a ton of single family homes in the 150-200k range, which is very affordable.
@Brenden Mitchum really great questions! To be honest, I'm looking to find investments that generate a cash flow of at least 2k per month to offset some other financial expenses I need to take care of. Is single family home purchases the better option? It seems like this approach is more standard in GA, but not entirely sure. I'm from Queens where multi-families are everywhere and most investors buy MFA vs single family rentals..
@Joseph Firmin Thanks!! Yes, I'm starting to do as much research about Atlanta as possible - I'm hoping to connect to a real estate agent over there and get a better insight on all the different areas. Investing for cash flow is my primary goal right now - as I mentioned above, I'm hoping I can generate 2k a month - I have no idea if this is realistic or not (I'm sure I would need to purchase more than one property to make this happen), but I'll find out soon enough haha
Just FYI, East Point, GA is one of the heaviest crime areas in GA. Especially for an out of state investor, I don’t know if I would recommend it. There other “high crime” areas with good cash flow, but idk if it will help you in the long run.
Just FYI, East Point, GA is one of the heaviest crime areas in GA. Especially for an out of state investor, I don’t know if I would recommend it. There other “high crime” areas with good cash flow, but idk if it will help you in the long run.
This really isn't true. There was a very poorly conducted and fully debunked piece of so-called journalism that publicized the high crime rate in East Point. For the most part, it's a safe, quiet, little town that's great for investors. Go for a walk on nearly any street and you'll see what I mean.
Just FYI, East Point, GA is one of the heaviest crime areas in GA. Especially for an out of state investor, I don’t know if I would recommend it. There other “high crime” areas with good cash flow, but idk if it will help you in the long run.
This really isn't true. There was a very poorly conducted and fully debunked piece of so-called journalism that publicized the high crime rate in East Point. For the most part, it's a safe, quiet, little town that's great for investors. Go for a walk on nearly any street and you'll see what I mean.
Lookup a crime map of density and crime statistics. East point is extremely close to College Park which has been notorious for crime in the past. I wasn't making a random guess, it was data-driven.