All Forum Posts by: Josh Deeden

So this post is only tangentially related to investing, but I'm hoping folks here can still offer some guidance on a few questions I have. For some background, like many people, we've decided to relocate from California to the Nashville area. We're doing this for all of the typical reasons one makes this move, but most of all, to save money and improve our financial position to the point where we're comfortable taking risks with investing in real estate. But we have some work to do in that department, and we're thinking it'd be smarter for us to rent for the first year or so, get to know the area, save as much cash as possible, and then eventually purchase our primary residence. At the price point we're targeting for the primary residence, the expected monthly PITI will be slightly more than half of the rent we're paying here in California. So the plan is to save for another year and then eventually use that money to invest using whatever strategy makes sense at that time.

In the meantime, we need to find a SFH rental to live in and I'm hoping folks here can recommend some good resources for doing so. I'm skeptical of listings on sites like rent.com, Zillow, Trulia, etc. It seems like many of the houses on these sites are listed by large property management companies such as Progress Residential and American Homes 4 Rent, and neither of these companies are well-reviewed on sites like TrustPilot or BBB, which gives me pause. Do folks here have any experience with or knowledge about these companies? In any event, we'd much prefer to rent from mom/pop owners or investors like yourselves who either self manage or use a quality local property management company. We're solid renters with high income and great credit and rental history, and our current landlord loves us and we think she's great too. We're hoping to find a comparable relationship in Nashville, so I'm hoping people here can maybe point me in the right direction.

For some additional context, we are looking for a dog-friendly (not breed restricted) 3/2 (or larger) with at least 1800 sq ft in a Nashville suburb. We only spent a few days there, but we visited Mt Juliet, Hendersonville, Franklin and Murfeesboro and all of those areas appealed to us. We also visited Thompson Station and decided that was a little too far out for us. But generally speaking, comparable areas within 30 minutes of the city are on the menu. Our monthly budget for rent is between $1,900-$2,500. We could conceivably go higher for the right place. We're picky and have a bunch of other requirements that don't make sense go into here, but if knowing those would be helpful, let me know and I can follow up with those details.

So yeah, any advice on where to look or who to contact in service of finding a quality rental in Nashville is very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Originally posted by @John Morgan:

Originally posted by @Josh Deeden:

Originally posted by @John Morgan:

@Josh Deeden

Anywhere in Texas. Half of California is moving here and it will be a hot market for years to come with TX being business friendly. I have 9 SFRs in the DFW area and demand is insane.

That's encouraging.   Curious to know, what are your rents and have you been able to raise them with any regularity?

My rents are from $1200/mo to $1950/month. My best ROI is on properties in the 150-170k price range where I can get around 1% in rent I've noticed rent prices going up quite a bit lately. I only raise mine from $15-$30 more per month each year. Property taxes eat up a lot of your profits but appreciation has gone through the roof mine are appreciating around 10-15%/year.

Man, that's awesome.   Glad to hear you're finding success in Dallas.   Are you presently acquiring properties?   If so, are you doing mostly off-market deals these days?   Or is the MLS still a viable source in Dallas?  

Originally posted by @John Morgan:

@Josh Deeden

Anywhere in Texas. Half of California is moving here and it will be a hot market for years to come with TX being business friendly. I have 9 SFRs in the DFW area and demand is insane.

That's encouraging.   Curious to know, what are your rents and have you been able to raise them with any regularity?

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses.   Super helpful, and you've given me much to think about.   Right now, it's anybody's guess where we'll actually land.   States without income tax are being given the first looks, minus any that have harsh winters.  We also have what kind of house we want in our price range and Texas seems to most fit that criteria, but so does Tennessee.   Of those two, Texas seems to have the most growth potential long-term, and seems a little more diverse.  On the other hand, property taxes in Texas aren't my favorite, but they are significantly less than what I pay in state income tax and I'm happy to take the deduction.   Florida might be an option, but I'm unsure if it's in budget for us and also, hurricanes.  Washington seems overpriced.

If I relent a bit on the no state income tax requirement, that opens up markets in NC and GA, two other places we think we'd be open to living.   Perhaps Idaho as well under the right conditions.  

Anyway, that's my current thinking.   I've come to realize I just need more data and personal experience with these places, so it looks like spring and summer is going to consist of lot of nationwide travel for me.   Let's hope this dang pandemic slows its roll in the coming months!  

Originally posted by @Samara Huntley:

@Josh Deeden have you considered Charlotte, North Carolina?

Personal reasons to live here: tons of amenities, decent weather year round, relatively affordable compared to other major cities, the beach and mountains are only 2.5 hours away etc.

Reasons to build your portfolio here:

Extreme job and population growth (80 people a day), 1% rule properties in submarkets, great appreciation and being ranked the 3rd top RE market in the nation for 2021.

Don’t know if you can tell I’m a native or not... #ILoveCharlotte

P.s they also have a strong tech and banking industry here so that could be another plus.

Yes!   North Carolina is very much on the short list.   So many things to like about North Carolina as far as I can tell.   I would love to hear more about your experiences there.   I will send you a PM!

Originally posted by @Zachary Beach:

@Josh Deeden I live and invest in STR's in big bear Ca only an hour and a half from you. But housing is half to a third as much and if a place is managed well it has crazy high cash flow and CoC. You would have the advantage of still being in California but also the disadvantage from a tax perspective.

Man, I love big bear. Just a shame it's in California. But I hadn't considered the STR possibility either, but perhaps I should? I can imagine the returns on those are pretty good when they go well, but I do worry about the management overhead required to operate them. If I lived there, I think it would be manageable, but seriously, I need to GTFO of California. The income tax here is just a bit too much for me to stomach. But I do appreciate the suggestion and widening of my perspective.

Originally posted by @Kory McCain:

I would take a look at Boise...I moved from California and am now living and investing here in the Boise area.

Boise sounds interesting.   The weather gives  me pause though.   I'm generally allergic to snowy weather in my advanced age, but it's not an absolute deal breaker.   I don't fully understand the tax burden in Idaho compared to other states, so I would need to research that.   But as someone who loves the outdoors and beautiful places, Boise definitely ticks a lot of boxes.    I think I'll dig a little deeper into Boise and see what I can learn.   Thanks!

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

@Josh Deeden have you tried forex/crypto trading? I reckon it’ll suit you.

I haven't.   Having previously worked at a shady crypto company, I'm somewhat weary, but it's not off the table.   Don't know a whole lot about forex trading, so perhaps that's something to look into.   Appreciate the prompt to look into these further!

Originally posted by @Alexander Knowles:

@Josh Deeden would definitely consider your daily/weekly activities and what you really enjoy doing outside of work as moving to a cheaper place to live does have its negatives in regards to amenities and outside activities. In a larger metropolitan area like San Antonio, there will be deals as long as you stick to the grind of looking for them and committing to making offers. We just relocated to the south-east and putting in a plug to look into areas here. I know Knoxville/Nashville are seeing some growth as well as Atlanta, and areas in South and North Carolina! Sometimes you just need to commit to a place and figure the rest out on the fly!

Great advice.   Yeah, it definitely needs to be a place we enjoy.   I can't imagine moving to St. Louis, for example, or anywhere with bad winters.   Been there, done that and I am good for a lifetime.   We are also considering the Southeast.   Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, etc.   Tennessee appeals because of the all around low tax burden, but we're a little worried about cultural fit.   But that could just be coastal-elite bias on our side, so we're gonna take a little trip there to get a better feel for what life is like down there.   

Where in the Southeast did you land?

Originally posted by @Troy Jaster:

@Josh Deeden - Just sent you a DM with some local info about San Antonio. Looking forward to connecting with you!

Awesome, thank you.   I'll check it out and get back to you!