Where to buy a rental SFH in Atlanta

Question

Kalim Kalla · Answer

Kaustubh, I find a really good area for appreciation in homes and rental rates themselves is Lithonia. We just had a rental property in Lithonia yesterday that had an ARV of 190K this year and had it been comped out last year it would be around 165k. The main force driving this appreciation is the influx of private equity firms coming in and spending a bit more money on the rehab of their homes and increasing rents placing new tenants in. For this specific reason, Stone Mountain and Lithonia seems to be one of the hottest areas for rental appreciation in ATL. Using this knowledge if you can find the areas they target next or get into the areas they currently own SFH's in, at some form of discount that could present a great opportunity.

Brenden Mitchum · Answer

Hey @Kaustubh Johri

Honestly, you could drop a pin on a random neighborhood in the Atlanta MSA and chances are pretty good it'll see appreciation in the next 5 years.

With that budget and goal, I would recommend taking a look outside of Fulton County. Gwinnett and Cobb County would be solid options. Both counties have some supply in that $200-250k range, with rents well within the range you mentioned, plus high likelihood for appreciation.

Hope this helps a bit. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!

Jim Glover · Answer

@Kaustubh Johri. I have houses in Gwinnett, Barrow and Walton Counties.  Gwinnett rent rate is great and you will never have a problem finding a good tenant, but the taxes have increased at a much faster rate.  I am focusing more on counties a little farther out for new properties, I think the chance for greater appreciation is better as more people continue to move to more suburban areas.  All that said finding any properties at a good price is terribly difficult at the moment.  The institutional buyers are all over this area and they will always pay much more than a small investor.  Good luck!

Kyle O'Donnell · Answer

I agree with @Kalim Kalla and @Brenden Mitchum. Stone Mountain and Lithonia are solid as well as Gwinnett at large. I used to have 6+/10 schools in my criteria which is VERY hard to find in Gwinnett county with prices these days. I say that because schools suck in Lithonia and Stone Mountain. But I still think that’s a great area to be in.

Jingru Sui · Answer

@Kaustubh Johri

Powder springs, hiram . Dallas... I think we talked about this before.

Jim Glover · Answer

@Kaustubh Johri  Fortunately I am able to buy with cash.  I should probably be refinancing some in the future, but right now I like the cash flow of owning them outright.

Brenden Mitchum · Answer

@Kaustubh Johri of course, higher taxes will decrease your cash flow. This is actually part of why I recommended not investing in Fulton. However, I still really like the Gwinnett area from a long-term growth perspective. It's not as much of a gamble as some of the other areas since schools are already pretty solid there. Gwinnett would be the more stable, less risky county to invest in but as we all know, more stable often means lower returns. So, it's just up to you and your investing goals.

I like South Cobb from a cash flow perspective. Supply there is pretty low right now (as it is across the MSA) and that area has attracted investors for some time now. That being said, if you keep your eyes out and are ready to pull the trigger, you could scoop something up well within your budget. Also, Powder Springs has some pretty darn good schools, if you're into that sort of thing.

Kaustubh Johri · Answer

@Jingru Sui - Thanks for the heads up.. appreciate it.

Jingru Sui · Answer

@Kaustubh Johri

There’re some houses in the area that desperately need flipping. People aren’t selling and moving right now. You might want to connect or hire people to help you get to those property owners. To name a a street Hardy street for example. Close to the new Costco that’s gonna open on 3/11. Lots of houses look distressed but some has already been flipped and sold in the low to mid 200K. If you can get it in the low 100k with wholesaler or purchase directly from owner. Not bad.

Kaustubh Johri · Answer

@Jingru Sui - Yes, we did . Thanks for your reply.

I do not see a lot of fix and flips happening in Paulding county (I suppose there are newer homes). Although Paulding county satisfied the first part of my strategy (i.e. renting), it does not satisfy the second part which is fix and flip.

What are your thoughts on flipping potential in the area ?

Where to buy a rental SFH in Atlanta

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