Aspiring Newbie to REI - Located in ATLANTA, GA

[Harsh Patel]

Hello BP Community,

My name is Harsh Patel and very excited to start my real estate investing journey. I have been reading blogs and listening to the podcasts on and off but finally have taken the step to take this on full throttle. My goal for 2023 is to buy at least 1 rental property. I currently live in Atlanta, GA and an engineer by education, working as a Program Manager in an automotive company.

Looking to connect with fellow investors with like minded thinking towards financial freedom and hopes of finding someone who can mentor me towards achieving my goals.

My strategy is buy and hold with focus on condos / apartments and multifamily units. More specifically would be interested in student rentals in GA, AL, TN, SC and NC areas.

Looking forward to connect and network with people having similar interests.

Thanks,

Harsh Patel

[Darrion P.]

Greetings Harsh, Welcome! Sounds like you've set your sights on a great horizon. Keep in mind that most condos in Atlanat have rent restrictions/waiting lists. 

Best Regards, 

Darrion | VantageReal.estate

[Chris Levarek]

@Harsh Patel Some of the markets made the list for 2023 : https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

If Atlanta too hot, SC, NC, TN all great options.

[Michael Dumler]

@Harsh Patel, welcome to BP! As noted above, many ATL condo/townhome communities have HOA rental restrictions that entirely prevent or cap rentals. Not to mention, many of these communities have ridiculous HOA fees that kill cash flow. To add more insult to injury, sourcing small multifamily deals in the surrounding ATL submarkets has never been more difficult. Most small multifamily on-market properties are still receiving competitive offers from investors that usually end up in a bidding war. Acquiring a small multifamily deal is not entirely impossible, however, you have to be aggressive when submitting offers. I haven't heard of many investors pursuing student rentals. The campus locations of Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Emory, Agnes Scott College, and Clark Atlanta University put you in expensive real estate markets where the numbers rarely pencil out (unless you're pursuing rent-by-the-room investments). With all this being said, most of the investors I work with either pursue long-term SFH deals in submarkets 30-40 mins outside the City, house hack deals, or rent-by-the-room investments. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any real estate-related or ATL market-specific questions (contact info is listed in my bio).

[Jingru Sui]

Not recommending condo/apartment as investment unless you can buy the whole apartment. Condo has been hard to sale from an exit strategy stand point. Feel free to reach out if you have questions regarding Atlanta market. I’m local 

[Will Gaston]

@Harsh Patel this thread on student rentals may be helpful:

Nearing 1,000 College Students: Here's What I've Learned

[Mark Munson]

Welcome to BP @Harsh Patel!

      The secondary and tertiary markets around Charlottes are reasonable to enter (Rock Hill, SC , Gastonia, NC, etc). I have a number of clients moving in AL at the moment too, one of which is building numerous homes as a Build to Rent strategy, so worth exploring Birmingham and Huntsville.  Happy to connect further to see how I can help or give a bit of guidance, best of luck!

[Harsh Patel]

Quote from @Darrion P.:

Greetings Harsh, Welcome! Sounds like you've set your sights on a great horizon. Keep in mind that most condos in Atlanat have rent restrictions/waiting lists. 

Best Regards, 

Darrion | VantageReal.estate

Thanks D Phelps. Yes, this is something I came across while looking for rental properties.

[Harsh Patel]

Quote from @Chris Levarek:

@Harsh Patel Some of the markets made the list for 2023 : https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

If Atlanta too hot, SC, NC, TN all great options.

 Thanks for sharing this Chris. I have my eyes in the SC area after Atlanta.

[Harsh Patel]

Quote from @Michael Dumler:

@Harsh Patel, welcome to BP! As noted above, many ATL condo/townhome communities have HOA rental restrictions that entirely prevent or cap rentals. Not to mention, many of these communities have ridiculous HOA fees that kill cash flow. To add more insult to injury, sourcing small multifamily deals in the surrounding ATL submarkets has never been more difficult. Most small multifamily on-market properties are still receiving competitive offers from investors that usually end up in a bidding war. Acquiring a small multifamily deal is not entirely impossible, however, you have to be aggressive when submitting offers. I haven't heard of many investors pursuing student rentals. The campus locations of Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Emory, Agnes Scott College, and Clark Atlanta University put you in expensive real estate markets where the numbers rarely pencil out (unless you're pursuing rent-by-the-room investments). With all this being said, most of the investors I work with either pursue long-term SFH deals in submarkets 30-40 mins outside the City, house hack deals, or rent-by-the-room investments. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any real estate-related or ATL market-specific questions (contact info is listed in my bio).

 Hello Michael,

Thanks for the insights on ATL area condo investments. As you mentioned, some of the deals I analyzed are cash flow killer due to high HOAs. Additionally the CoC was not that great. Actually, I am not just focused in ATL area (it is one of the areas). I have been looking in other towns which require less capital and better CoC returns. Some areas I have looked at properties are in Athens, Augusta, Albany, Carrollton, etc.

[Harsh Patel]

Quote from @Will Gaston:

@Harsh Patel this thread on student rentals may be helpful:

Nearing 1,000 College Students: Here's What I've Learned

Thanks for this great article. Very helpful especially for someone starting up into this niche.

[Harsh Patel]

Quote from @Jingru Sui:

Not recommending condo/apartment as investment unless you can buy the whole apartment. Condo has been hard to sale from an exit strategy stand point. Feel free to reach out if you have questions regarding Atlanta market. I’m local 

 Hello Jingru - I assume because of high HOAs and rent restrictions. As I see you have some buy and hold investments in Smyrna and Powder Springs area.

Would like to connect if there are an other opportunities coming your way.

[Brandon Rabe]

@Harsh Patel welcome! 1 rental property is definitely doable. It sounds like you're open to long distance investing. Would you rather say you have the passive income or the multifamily units? Things to consider about jumping into multifamily: How many mistakes have you made so far in single family? How much bigger could it amount to on a larger asset? Are you willing to learn same or similar lessons on a larger scale? 10% loss on 100k is different than 10% on 1M. I also mentor and challenge my client's thought processes to get them to think for themselves.

[Julio Gonzalez]

Hi Harsh, welcome to the community! There is a great group of members on here to connect with.

[Alli Breighner]

Hi Harsh-

Welcome to the BP community! This site is an incredible platform that has numerous resources so definitely take advantage of it all. I'd love to get you started with your first rental property.

Would love to connect.

[Hannah Kellems]

@Harsh Patel If you would ever like to get on some wholesalers' lists in Augusta, GA, feel free to reach out!

[Ruchit Patel]

I have been looking for condos but definitely back out many times after looking at HOA restrictions and HOA monthly dues kill the cash flow. But look into the Granville condominium (Sandy's spring). My condo brings some good cashflow and they have amazing appreciation because of the location. It's a investor friendly condi so you won't have to wait for any waitlist but minimum rental in 1 year.

Let’s network!