Atlanta Gwinnett County

[Andy P.]

Hi, all. I know there's a wealth of information on this site but was hoping to get a more recent assessment of the Gwinnett County area and the opportunities as they are today (April 2013).

Specifically, my partner and I are looking to buy a SFH and have determined the following criteria:
- $125-$200K
- Houses built on last 10 years or so
- Areas that align with the good school districts (Suwanee, Buford, Lawrenceville, etc)
- Looking for a long-term buy and hold strategy

I know there's big debates around cash flow vs. appreciation, but for purposes of what I'm trying to do, I'm thinking long-term appreciation in areas that I believe will continue to have high demand due to school districts. Based on some prelim analysis, it seems that a place that's around 175K, would net around ~1400 in rents which doesn't seem to be the best rent-to-price ratio, but should cover all costs and yield some cash flow. The majority of wealth down the line expected to be the appreciation.

Anyway, wanted to see if anybody had thoughts on the Gwinnett area and whether targeting the price range I laid out is reasonable from an investment perspective. Is there opportunities? Any insights appreciated. Thanks.

[J Scott]

What do you mean by "net" around $1400 in rents?

Do you actually mean gross $1400? Or do you mean after expenses have $1400 remaining?

If you actually mean gross $1400, it's possible you can find some move-in-ready stuff in that price range, and you should definitely be able to find some stuff that requires some rehab and will yield those numbers.

That said, Gwinnett has gotten a lot tougher (along with much of Atlanta) over the past 12 months, so you may actually be competiting with other investors for these types of properties. But, what you're looking for shouldn't be impossible to find.