All Forum Posts by: Hunter Terryn

So I attended the Birmingham CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Luncheon this week and had a blast. It was an awesome group and they had an excellent guest speaker - Cornell Wesley, Director of Innovation and Econ. Dev. for Bham. Cornell was very inspiring, and had some cool things to share about the Magic City, their goals for growth, and some stuff in the works currently. 

Highlights (specifically in sports/entertainment) include:

Final prep for The World Games (July 2022) - collaboration with the airport, enhanced lightning and safety features on event routes, and the completion of “City Walk” near Uptown.

The Birmingham Xpress (BX) bus system for rapid transit - goal is to be within a 10 minute walk to any stop.

The World Police and Fire Games - coming to Bham 2025

Bham is a finalist for a future CrossFit Games

Working on getting the New Orleans Saints to play a preseason game here at Protective Stadium. 

Cornell also highlighted one key point that resonated well with the crowd- Birmingham’s greatest opportunity right now is Marketing. We have so much to offer as a city and so many great things coming in the future, we just don’t do a good job of sharing it with the world. I guess this post is my way of trying to help get the conversation started.

Would love to hear your thoughts and any other exciting Bham news you’ve heard of!

Hey David, I grew up in Clearwater and still have family down in the Tampa area. We have a rental a little south in Sarasota, not any in Pinellas County yet. Might not be able to provide the most technical advice, but would love to share everything I know of the area. Feel free to connect!

We’ve been in Alabama (Birmingham) for about a year now and haven’t made the trip up yet. Really excited my company is moving into that market. It’s going to give me the chance to learn a lot more via my investors and possibly get some stuff going up there. Very cool!

Didn’t the max interest go down from 12% to 8% recently? 

Hey BP Fam,

Thought I’d kick off the weekend with a fun question, focused on success and wins in the business…

What has been your best deal so far in your investing career? How’d you come about it? What made it so great? 

Wholesale? Flip? Long Term Rental? Other?

Feel free to share as much or as little detail as you’d like! 

Happy Investing!

Fernando! Glad to meet another investor that's interested in the Magic City! Would love to connect.

My wife and I moved here about a year ago (from Sarasota, FL) for her Residency at UAB. Honestly had no idea what to expect and was a little nervous at first, but after a year we are proud to call Birmingham home. 

Not only have we had a blast getting to know the city, getting to try the amazing food, getting to explore a different part of the southeast, but we have also been right in the center of one of the best investment markets in the country. 

Look forward to connecting and learning from each other!

I work in the Birmingham market and pull rental comps several times a day, hundreds this year so far. I haven't seen much if any decline in rents around Birmingham. In fact, we've seen rents rising over the last year and projected to continue that trend. That said, I've come across a couple instances where a report I pulled months ago is slightly higher than current. A few possible reasons:

-As others have alluded to, maybe additional (or different) comps were included in the updated report that brought the value down.

-Stats of the property are off from one report to the other. When I pull comps I'm very careful to obtain and verify the most accurate details possible (beds, baths, sqft). Sometimes the zillow/realtor/redfin stats are off from what the MLS has. Even 100 sqft can make a difference like you're seeing.

-Could be truly a slight decline. Some areas are not seeing nor expected to see the same growth as most in Bham. It has me very curious which neighborhood the house was in.

All in all, a $16-30 difference isn't all that concerning, considering the variations expected in comps. 

Hope that helps!

Birmingham is a very diverse market- lots of different types of properties that cover all the different classes.

For investors that have a higher risk profile and are looking for primarily cash flow investments, I’d recommend some areas in Jefferson county. Neighborhoods like Bessemer, Fairfield, Ensley, East Lake are good for that. 

For investors that have a lower risk profile and are looking for more appreciation, I’d recommend most of Shelby county. Neighborhoods like Hoover, Pelham, Chelsea, Calera, and Alabaster are good for that.

For investors that have a moderate risk profile and are looking for a mix of cash flow and appreciation, I’d recommend some other areas in Jefferson county. Neighborhoods like Roebuck, Huffman, Center Point, Clay/Chalkville, Forestdale, Adamsville, Hueytown and Pleasant Grove are good for that.

Definitely recommend narrowing down your target property (buybox) and becoming an expert on those types of deals. 

Hope that helps!

It was great chatting with you @Tim Mieney, and look forward to staying connected with you on your journey!

Turnkey is a great strategy for remote investors and anyone who is trying to scale up faster. You pay a premium for the convenience, but can be well worth it in the right neighborhood, especially considering the time and headache saved. Very important to find the right partner! I can't make a recommendation to any turnkey providers (since I haven't used anyone personally), but I might recommend talking to some PMs who have rehab/renovation teams. Specifically, ones that don't advertise as a "turnkey provider". There's a lot of value in the (almost) turnkey properties, where you might need 3-5K, maybe even up to 10K in rehab to make it rent ready:

-Potentially lower price up front due to work needing to be done

-Potential negotiating power once under contract

-Forced appreciation and built equity once the rehab is complete

-More control on quality and scope of work

A lot of the investors I talk to are looking exclusively for turnkey deals (at least initially), but once they go through a minor rehab process they realize it can be fairly easy with the right partners in place. Then it becomes part of their strategy long-term and they feel more comfortable replicating that process. Plus, they save some $$$ along the way!

As for the location, I have to put a plug in for my current city of residence - Birmingham, AL. My wife and I moved here last year for her job at UAB. Was skeptical at first, but this place has it all! Really a cool place to live. I get tons of calls from investors in CA and NY (and plenty of other places where prices are too high) talking about how attractive Birmingham is as a rental investment market. Low property taxes, excellent unemployment rates, massive medical influence, and relatively low prices. Would encourage you to check it out!

-Hunter