Battle Creek Rental Market info

[Scott Passman]

Hey everyone!  I am surveying some different areas in the Midwest to see which markets have the best potential for buying rental properties.  Doing some searches on available properties in the Battle Creek area compared to the going rate for rentals appears to be quite favorable with good opportunities to acquire properties meeting or exceeding the 1% rule.  As a bonus, many of these properties have been on the market 60+ days which means it is definitely a buyers market and there may be some good deals to be had.  However, I also know that Battle Creek has some rougher areas and I only have a general familiarity with the area.  Can anyone out there give me some information on the current rental market?  I am most interested in acquiring properties for under 100k with preferably less than 5k in rehab needed to get it rent ready.  Any information would be incredibly helpful, thanks everyone!

[Greg Scott]

Scott:

I have looked at several apartments in Battle Creek so can speak in general about the area, but not about single family rentals there.

Battle Creek has recovered from the great recession but never started to thrive like other towns in Michigan.  Kelloggs has been downsizing for years and there hasn't been much growth from other areas.  The population has been in slow decline since 1930 (see census stats and ignore the large bump in 1990 resulting from annexing nearby communities).  Recently there have been a few small automotive operations on the West side adding a few jobs, FireKeepers casino has become a larger employer as well.  But, the economy remains sideways to down.

If you buy in this area, buy because the cash flow is smoking hot.  You are unlikely to get appreciation.

One final comment, you may want to reconsider the use of the 1% rule.  If you use it as a compass, it will tend to point you to depressed areas.  I would want to be in a growing market first, then find the best cash-on-cash deals in that market.

Good luck