foreigner investing in memphis

[Account Closed]

Hi all!

Just joined the forum. I am particularly interested in buying rental property in Memphis and I have seen some deals on 38127 and 38109. Should I go ahead as my interest is the cash flow and intend to use a property manager?

[Chris Clothier]

@Account Closed

First off, welcome to BP. Not sure how you originally found the website, but it is a great tool for investors and can be a great place to make some really good connections.

As for your question, there are lots of places to invest for cash flow purposes. You are not far from several good cities right there in Carolina and even just north of Atlanta. I point it out, because low barrier or entry to a market should not be the driving factor for investing. The two zip codes you listed would not be considered the best zip codes in Memphis and would be considered high risk by many investors who have been buying in Memphis for a while.

For that level of risk, there are other cities closer to you where you could find a property management company. The only difference is you could get to your properties if you needed to fairly easily. I get that Memphis may only be a flight away, but I think you should weigh your risk before buying in those particular zip codes. They are big areas where there is a lot of undulation from street to street and it is much more challenging to to get long-term and stable returns in those areas. Not impossible, but difficult.

Lastly, I am not of the opinion that there are very many property management companies that manage in those areas very well. They may do it, but few do it really, really well for you to have lasting success.

Hope that helps to give you at least some guidance before you jump in with both feet.

Chris