Looking for advice for rental properties in Chattanooga!

[Yinglu Wang]

Hello! Hope everyone is staying healthy and sane.

I am exploring Chattanooga and want to find a good cash flow rental property (buy & hold) in this market. I am trying to find more information on the specific regions to invest in. I've heard great stuff about East Ridge, Hixson, and Red Bank, and I have found some properties that I am personally interested in in East Ridge, but the crime rate in the zip codes associated with these regions seems really high. I know there probably are some nuances in the neighborhood, so I am looking for tips from people who are more familiar with the area!

Any insight will be very much appreciated!

Yinglu

[Heidi Rau]

@Yinglu Wang I am a local Real Estate Agent and investor in Chattanooga. I have lived here for 26 years and can tell you that the areas you have mentioned are usually pretty safe. There used to be an interactive map that broke down crime rates by type, but the city took it down when they took down the Right2Know website. @Dan Beaulieu may be able to tell you more about the areas he has invested in where he experienced bullet holes in properties. I think East Ridge is one of the best investments right now just because of the Border Region District tax incentives that were put into place for commercial developers. So the area seems to be growing pretty rapidly as far as price per square is concerned. If you can get a good deal there, I would definitely jump on it because I have had a lot of first-time homebuyers getting priced out of the market out there (which has been the mostly predominant market for that area) or get into bidding wars. Red Bank values have been going up because they have latched onto the whole North Shore living/culture of being in close proximity to the river, so this is a highly desirable area and should be easy to get a renter into quickly. Hixson has its own little pockets, but there are some decent schools there and it is a healthy rental market for young families. Hope this helps!