Looking for first property in Augusta, GA

[Michele Z.]

Hello! New to BP and just starting to figure out the forums. I'm recapping this discussion here after posting in the Starting Out forum because I'm searching for the opinions of people who know this specific market - and I just found ya'll!

My research tells me Augusta, GA could be a great market for a rental property and perhaps even ongoing investments.

We're a USMC family coming to the area next PCS season. We'll likely do a brief trip end of March to physically see the area before moving down in June. We are first time home buyers. We have a 3yo and a 65lb dog so house hacking isn't in the cards for us.

Unlike most military families, we'll only be in Augusta for about a year before we convert to a rental. We're thinking about our situation as a slower BRRRR as we want to have cash flow. We are looking for a SFH (3/4+2) around 2000sf-ish that needs updating. We want to aim for a $1500 rental price + pet rental which we hope is achievable with our specific rental market.

According to online portals my husband and I have low 800 credit scores so we hope to use a conventional w/ 20% down to avoid mortgage insurance and increase our equity. We're not planning on using the VA Loan as we need to save the entitlement for a likely much more expensive market (DC) in 2021.

Our main focus is on Evans/Martinez because of proximity to the Ft. Gordon -AND- the new cyber developments downtown, plus access to amenities that we think will be attractive to the incoming workforce. That said, we are very worried about internet access in those older, more established areas after some quick searches and hope to not be pushed into Grovetown as it seems like it would only appeal to families. New construction in Grovetown isn't going to get us the cash flow we want right out of the gate.

What are your thoughts about starting out with lower than $200/mo cash flow in an appreciating area? We've been searching the consumer available MLS and realize that there's not a lot out there at the moment (that we can see) that meets our needs.

Eager to speak with those who are actively investing in this market since we can't physically get out to any meet-ups before we move to the area. Also very interested in finding out about the wholesale market - not exactly sure how that works yet, but it seems the way to go to ensure cashflow.

I appreciate any comments/suggestions as we're on a short timeline and want to learn as much as we can, as quickly as possible. Thanks!