First Turnkey property for rental investment in Atlanta

[Aditya Deshmukh]

Hi guys,

Hope you all are doing good and staying safe!

I am a new comer to the community and to real estate investing. So want to request your help, guidance and suggestions regarding my first purchase! I am currently located in California but purchasing a property in Atlanta as I will be moving there soon. I was in Atlanta last weekend and have narrowed down to 2 turnkey properties.

As this is my first purchase, I am thinking of playing it safe and purchasing a turnkey property which I will live in and rent out the other room(s). I am single right now so don’t need that much privacy. I plan to live in the property for ~18-24 months and then might be managing the property from out of state.

I was considering some ready to move in townhomes in South of East Atlanta (East of Woodland Hills). Does this area have scope for potential growth in the next 10 years? Right now the schools in the area are bad. I am unsure if I will be able to find out renters in this area as it is 20 mins away from the main city. These properties also have an HOA for which the fees are low right now but may increase in the future. It's a gated community so security should be an issue. It is brand new construction so I won't have to replace HVAC or water heater or roof anytime soon.

My other consideration was a condo in Virginia highlands area. It is half the size of the East Atlanta units and was build in the mid 1990’s. The location is great as it’s close to piedmont park and the belt line. There are great schools in the area. The maintenance will be more in this condo as it’s old. But it may be easier to rent out. It’s 30-40k more expensive than the East Atlanta townhomes.

Being new to the city and to real estate Investing, it’s becoming difficult for me to make a decision. I want to invest in rental properties and build a rental portfolio in the future if this deal works out well.

Any help and pointers will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance to the entire BiggerPockets community!!

[Rashaun Forrest]

@Aditya Deshmukh not knowing much about the property. Out of the three the Virginia highlands property sounds most appealing to me. It’s an in demand area close to a lot of attractions which should make it easy to rent and get solid tenants to screen.

I could look over the numbers and rents and maybe make a more in depth suggestion.