All Forum Posts by: Trey Bonner

Hi, my wife and I are long term buy and hold investors. We purchased our first investment property (SFH) in the Grove Park Atlanta neighborhood earlier this year. Using the "stack" strategy, we are now looking for a duplex in 2021. Our target neighborhood is East Point, GA but the prices are a little outside of our budget. While continuing to watch East Point, I stumbled on Union City, GA which is less than a 30 min SW of Hartsfield Jackson airport. I am not overly familiar with the area and was hoping the BP community had insights.

A few questions: 

- Is anyone currently investing in Union City, GA, if so, do you have any thoughts on the: (1) market projections for the next 5 yrs (understanding that COVID is a wildcard); (2) current/future development both public and private; (3) current/projected industry in the area. 

-  I am also open to any general thoughts about East Point as a target neighborhood to invest in small multi-families. 
  

Thanks @Kenneth Garrett I am familiar with both strategies. We did a ~$70k rehab on our current primary, prior to moving in. I was very hands on in the process and based on that experience I would agree that a full BRRRR is not ideal for my first investment property, especially considering that the property may be in a different state. Thanks for sharing your numbers, maybe I should raise the bar a bit. What market(s) do you invest in?

I definitely agree @George W.

Thanks for your response @Jingru Sui A reoccurring theme I am hearing is to stick with your numbers/criteria, which makes sense. I just don't want to miss the boat on future (potentially better) opportunities because I jumped in too early. Whose to say that I couldn't purchase two properties with the same amount of cash if only I were patient and waited until 2020 Q4/2021 Q1 versus buying one (which met all criteria) now? I guess that's trying to guess the market which is never a good idea. 

Maybe for a newbie like me I should only focus on (1) pulling together all my landlord templates/processes, (2) continue to read and educate myself, and (3) keep a close eye on my target markets -analyze and track properties (I created a property tracking sheet). I am thinking it may be best to sit on the sidelines and let the pros do their thing until there is visibly a shift in the market. I think my risk tolerance is shrinking by the day. Thanks for weighing in everyone. 

Thanks for responding @Kody Thompson I definitely agree that cashflow is king 

@Karl B. could you speak more about your metrics and if any have changed since Covid? I was focused on cashflow per door (@ least $200), CoC (9.5% and higher), and total cash needed to buy and fix up property (lite rehab). I don't see these changing but not sure if there are additional things that should be considered due to Covid. I will definitely take incorporate in the extra 10% for rehab cost.

We are looking at small multifamily (2-4 doors) and single family homes. Buy and hold

Since catching the RE bug last November, I have read 8 books (more than I've read in the past 4 years), attended local RE meet-ups & events, identified my markets (Atlanta & Memphis), started building my team in both markets, daily read both the articles and forums on biggerpocket and other sites, analysis deals daily, and have put in a few offers in both markets. But now with Covid... there is so much information and opinions out there, all of which make a green wannabe (we don't have any investment properties yet) investor like me freeze. Do folks have hard markers/indicators that they are watching to decide when there are great deals out there? Is it solely based on consistent and continuous analysis of properties in your market until you see a shift in values? Are there certain experts, businesses, gurus or local organizations that you are following as indicators of a shift? 

I recently read an article stating RedfinNow is resuming their all-cash home purchase program immediately and Zillow Offers is not far behind. Does this mean anything? It seems more likely that we won't truly understand the impact of Covid19 on real estate until after (1) mortgage forbearance periods end; (2) evictions are allowed; and (3) foreclosures are processed. All of which makes me think we should just sit on the sidelines until the dust settles. I guess we don't want to look back on all this and realize we were the "fearful" in Buffet's quote, when we should have been "greedy". 

 My wife and I are excited to jump into the game, with the hopes of showing our 3-year old twins the path to financial freedom, but we are becoming more and more cautious in an attempt to avoid stumbling out of the blocks. Instead of consuming information/data by the masses, I guess I am trying to figure out how best to filter out the noise. As things continue to unfold I find myself a lot more shy about even entertaining potential deal, not to mention pulling the trigger on one. 
 

Hi @Jennifer D. I live in Westview ATL and actively looking for a property (preferable 2-4 doors) in Washington Park. I agree with you 100%. The city is investing heavy in the area, there are multiple parks in the neighborhood, proximity to Midtown/downtown and the stadiums are great. Not to mention MARTA access and being positioned on the beltline. I would love to chat about any owners who inherited property or just interested in selling in the area. I am sending you a PM now. Hope we get a chance to connect.

@Micah Redden What's the meet-up location?