Cities in the US with Inexpensive Duplexes, Triplexes

[Stephanie Medellin]

I see a lot of posts mentioning fairly cheap purchase prices. I've lived in upstate NY, and am now in Los Angeles. I know real estate in upstate NY isn't too pricey, but I wanted to get a feel for some other cities in the US where one could buy duplexes, triplexes, and even 4-plexes for less than $50,000. I'm not talking about markets where every once in awhile there is a fire damaged or severely neglected property at that price, but areas with a good supply of real estate the under $50,000 price range.

Detroit is probably the only place I wouldn't want to go!

[Nicolas Gonzalez]

@Stephanie Medellin

Tax rates around 1.14

So $30k house you're paying $300 and change

[Francis Okeke]

I am curious about the talk about Memphis and I am trying to reference it to my present location. For example how much on the average will say a 3bd/2bth SFR in a grade C neighborhood with rental income of about $850/month go for? what are the driving factors for growth in Memphis?

[Curt Davis]

@Francis Okeke

A home that rents for $850, depending on who you purchase from will be anywhere from say $65,000 to $75,000 on average.

Some of the main employment factors in Memphis are:

FedEx, St Jude and Lebonheur Childrens hospital, UT Medical school, AutoZone and International Paper World HQ, Expanding Bio Tech, Electrolux..

These are some of the major ones. Hope that gives you a little idea of what your asking about.

[Curt Davis]

@Francis Okeke

I also forgot to mention trucking industry is huge here as well as River Barge traffic and the Rail Road.

[Dean Letfus]

We just sold 2 rehabbed and rented at $850 and $825 for 108K for the pair. There's plenty of good deals here in Memphis Francis!!

[Francis Okeke]

Thanks Curt Davis and Dean Letfus, I will definitely be planning a trip to Memphis very soon to check things out for myself. I am looking for a market to invest long term. The Phoenix market has had large swing in home prices that has made a lot of savvy investors very wealthy. I have been curious to know how investors know which markets to jump into, when to get into the market and when to get out of that specific market. so far it appears to be all word of mouth.

[Stephanie Medellin]

@Nicolas Gonzalez  This reply is coming very late, but I was just looking back at this old thread because the topic is still of interest to me.

I'm just wondering how your property taxes work in North Carolina, because low tax rates are awesome.  Are properties reassessed upon change of ownership, or does each town do a city-wide reassessment every so many years?

[Shirley Gregory]

@Stephanie Medellin

Hey Stephanie,

In NC real property is assessed every 8 yrs but the city or county can make adjustments in the fourth year after a reappraisal.

[Alex Franks]

Originally posted by @Stephanie Medellin:

I see a lot of posts mentioning fairly cheap purchase prices. I've lived in upstate NY, and am now in Los Angeles. I know real estate in upstate NY isn't too pricey, but I wanted to get a feel for some other cities in the US where one could buy duplexes, triplexes, and even 4-plexes for less than $50,000. I'm not talking about markets where every once in awhile there is a fire damaged or severely neglected property at that price, but areas with a good supply of real estate the under $50,000 price range.

Detroit is probably the only place I wouldn't want to go!

@Stephanie Irto I was in NY in 2013 Buffalo, Rochester. Yes under $50k but very rough areas what I call war zones. I should mention I am from Charlotte NC but born in New York. So I understand both markets. In Charlotte if you find those prices I promise you going to be in  very rough areas.  For me personal lower end deals just seem to be more hands on. Really taken into account the holding cost of these types of units don't make sense in the long run. Again to each his own. Using leverage in todays markets I see more folks shooting for nicer assets. There are multiple states where the numbers make sense. Just harder to find the duplex, triplex or even the quads in nicer areas.

Ask away If I can help answer any questions

Alex

[Stephanie Medellin]

@Alex Franks  Thanks for your post.  I agree, some of the cheaper areas really do have their challenges.  Then again, all aspects of real estate have different challenges.  I like upstate NY and there are good opportunities to buy inexpensively, but the taxes eat into your profits.  Going forward I will have to decide whether it's better to get properties very cheap and have the government to basically take 25% - 30% of the gross income each year in property taxes, or find a different area that I can buy and once the property is paid for, expenses won't be such a high percentage of income. 

[Alex Franks]

Originally posted by @Stephanie Medellin:

@Alex Franks  Thanks for your post.  I agree, some of the cheaper areas really do have their challenges.  Then again, all aspects of real estate have different challenges.  I like upstate NY and there are good opportunities to buy inexpensively, but the taxes eat into your profits.  Going forward I will have to decide whether it's better to get properties very cheap and have the government to basically take 25% - 30% of the gross income each year in property taxes, or find a different area that I can buy and once the property is paid for, expenses won't be such a high percentage of income. 

@Stephanie Irto I have some lower end areas in Rock Hill SC that I invested in. I was the King of the rough areas back in the day. Some Humor their but taxes then, and taxes now kill me in SC. I try to keep majority  of what I do on th NC side of of the border. As I live just on the SC side but very cloe to NC side.  Stay in touch and ask away. My grand Parents lived in Rock Land County upstate NY. My brother in laws family resides in Buffalo , and Genesio areas.

Alex