Any Jacksonville experts out there?

Question

Hey everyone

Starting/continuing my research on Jacksonville and I keep realizing the deeper I dig, the bigger Jacksonville is getting.  This place is huge, largest city by area in the US I believe.  I do plan on going there in the next 2 months to check areas out.  I just seem to find 150k+ houses right around the corner from 40-60k houses. It looks like these houses are simply bigger (700-1000sq ft larger) and possibly newer.  This isn't the norm so much where I currently stay in California so I'm finding it hard to judge good areas from bad ones.

Can anyone offer some knowledge on some neighborhoods in Jacksonville? I'm also interested to know if these bigger houses would actually rent out well since there are some beat up 2300 sq ft+ houses for low prices (but again that goes back to the type of neighborhood I'd guess.  This is a big subject so if anyone wants to talk by phone send me a message.

Maxwell Lee · Answer

I think the advice you've received is pretty solid (i'm kelly's partner btw). Many people would consider me an expert on a few things in Jacksonville...namely the history, the arts and culture scene, and perhaps business and commerce too. How well that translates to REIT is anybody's guess lol...I guess we'll find out in a few years!

I do know a lot of people though including some politicians, urban/city planners, architects, commercial property developers and managers, etc, so they keep me somewhat knowledgeable of things happening around the region.

Also, @Scott Voytko, the river thing is a common misconception. There are actually hundreds of rivers that flow north. You can google to find extensive stories and lists of rivers...but I've chosen to include this one in particular because the website is an absolutely incredible source of information about jacksonville. However, it focuses primarily on urban aspects and therefore the urban core neighborhoods.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-apr-due-north-the-st-johns-river-is-one-of-many

hey whats up, jack?

Jack Bobeck · Answer

@Jeremy Williams I am going to disagree with many of these posts. We have investors who buy based on an address in Google, and they can get an idea of a property and what is around it by looking at the pictures. If they want more details, we go do a drive-by.

Find someone in any local market you can trust, they are not hard to find and you will probably have some trial and error. We are buying for 2 investors one looking for 150 homes another looking for 300 homes. They are demanding, but we have a GREAT team, and that is who you should look to work with, as 1 single agent cannot take care of Investors as well as buyers, sellers, listings and social media. It does not work in this day and age. I have a team of 4, including myself, to get this done. Best of luck to you! There are GREAT cap rates all over town, do not fear one area over another, because there is always HUD.

Jack

Kevin Martin · Answer

I'm not even close to an expert but Ive been here since 2005 and have a good understanding of most areas. If you dont live here and are considering investing you should at least come drive around so you can get a feel for the different areas in town. Jax can be very patchy but I guess it depends on what type of investing you are interested in. I try to focus on a few areas east of the river as they are very centralized and close to downtown, Town center mall (very hot area), Jax port, and the beaches.

Scott Voytko · Answer

hi all

I'm a realtor and investor in Jacksonville, but I focus in clay county (orange park, fleming island, middleburg )

I can give you some brief insight into the jax and surrounding market.   History lesson:  river cities tend to sprawl out  and grow north against the flow of the river.  Because, of course,  people would bath and whatnot in the river and the wealth always had to be upstream so they get the freshwater.  The St. John's river in Jacksonville, though, is one of 2 rivers in the world that flow north and Not south.  So the wealth tends to go south in Jacksonville, opposite  to typical river cities.   When you look at the maps, consider that as you look into property values.

As for the bad neighborhoods next to good neighborhoods, you're absolutely right.  Housing along the river is expensive, and gradually decreases as you get further from it.  In some cases, 2 blocks separate 40k from 400k.  Blocks change quick in Jacksonville, so be careful to not see low price as a good deal.

Kelly L. · Answer

Hi guys, I am investing in Jacksonville from DC with a Jax local. I've visited Jacksonville 5 times or so. By March, I am hoping to have our current properties rented out. I will be in town then, If you guys want to meet up, or we can do a video chat with my partner.

Some areas are better to rent out than others, but these are just from stats we've seen. I think we can give you a better picture a little down the road. Depending on what you like, it could be different area.

Erik K. · Answer

I'm finding the same and am also planning a trip out in March to meet with some local experts.

I'm interested to see what others have to see. I love this market!

Any Jacksonville experts out there?

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