Understanding the market

[Monico Lorenzana]

Hello fellow investors!! 

My wife and I are looking to invest out of state and we've started looking into the Huntsville Alabama market. 

My question is what are the types of homes that attract long term tenants in this market? SFR, small multifamily? What is the preferred bed and bath count? Preferred sqft of the home? Multilevel like a 2nd floor or basement desired? Are backyards a big thing? What about pools?

Any and all information would be very very much appreciated. Thank you in advance!! 

[Michael S.]

@Monico Lorenzana - I think it's great you are starting out in REI. Good luck on your journey. Now, if you want the blunt truth, I'd recommend you look at another location for OOS investing. Right now, the market here is brutal and at a standstill. Why? Overbuilt MFH, the vast majority of STRs being converted to LTRs in the past year due to law changes, and rent amounts are currently outpaced with what properties are selling for. Personally, we are on pace to sell more properties this year than the number of acquisitions for the first time since I started doing REI in 2017. To answer some of your other questions in general about Huntsville, there are almost no basements here, and you never want a pool for a rental unless its an STR, which are now forbidden here without proper zoning and permitting.

@Kerlous Tadres - just as an FYI, duplexes basically don't exist in Huntsville relative to the number you may see in your home city.