All Forum Posts by: James Allen

Yea, I have to go to sleep at 9pm to make that happen. If I sleep at 10pm, I'm done. 

My Routine:

1. Wake Up @ 5AM

2. Drink 2 Glasses of Water/Eat Breakfast

3. Read Bible

4. Write in Journal

5. Read Vision Out loud

6. Brush Teeth

7. Work Out @ Gym 4 days a week/Shower

@Peter Baudendistel - lol, I have multiple investments in Knoxville, all of which provide good cash flow. But that aside, I’ll partially agree with you it’s not comparable to the type of cash flow you’ll get out in Memphis. Memphis is a 100% cash flow play with minimal appreciation. You hit the nail on the head saying Knoxville is a mix of cash flow and appreciation. That’s exactly how I’ve looked at it and what I’ve loved about Knoxville is it’s been one of the best markets recently for that balance. I’ll also add that it’s definitely getting harder and harder to find deals Since the market went up but there are still some out there. 

@Renee Ren - If cash flow is one of your main goals, I'd definitely recommend Knoxville, TN. It's got good cash flow and has seen great appreciation recently. I really like where Huntsville, AL is headed as well but as someone else mentioned, the multi-family is in bad areas so stick with SFH. Job growth has been huge in Huntsville but also good in Knoxville. I would try to avoid 100% cash flow plays memphis, cleveland, etc. For more appreciation based and long term investing with cash flow still possible I'd be looking at Orlando, FL and Phoenix, AZ. The fundamentals in those cities look awesome right now!

@Justin Clemmer - It has to do with the fact that proper permits may not have been taken out when they made additions. It's not really my area of expertise but i believe some counties/cities just give you a penalty/fine to pay but it may really depend place by place. I would suggest looking into it. I do know that it will make it harder to sell/transact vs a permitted triplex and thus your price point may take a hit. 

@Justin Clemmer - Here's a few thoughts I have.

1. One expense I don't see mentioned is lawn care. This says 1 acre of land so that could end up being a big lawn care bill depending on how much grass there is. 

2. Closing Costs will be closer to $5,500-$6,000 rather than $2,500. 

3. Don't assume rehab is $0. There may be some things that come up on the inspection you need to address so keep at least an extra $5,000 aside for that.

4. Make sure it's legally a triplex. It's listed on the property assesor's website as a single family. 

5. Looks like it's on a main road which isn't ideal. 

Aside from that, it looks like it's in good shape and has been well maintained!

@John Cole - I honestly think Knoxville is one of the best markets if not the best right now to get a combination of cash flow and appreciation in the short term plus you happen to live there which is even better! But if you’re looking for cheaper than Knoxville then you’re left with the pure cash flow plays like Memphis, Cleveland, and Birmingham. 

Ignore them! My parents, brother in law, family in general, friends, thought I was nuts when I said I was going to invest in rental property out of state back in 2016. They told me it was a big mistake and I should be getting my own personal residence. To this day I don't have a personal residence, mainly because I wouldn't be able to keep purchasing rental property at this moment if I did get one in SoCal so for now I still rent where I live and own what I rent. I currently have 7 rentals which isn't a lot although I have a lot of equity in those properties now that I'm going to start tapping into this year and begin expanding my portfolio even more. 

Funny enough, it was about a year ago my parents realized I was on to something and decided to sell their house so they could start investing in real estate to have passive income for retirement. Now everyone wants to know how I'm doing it. I think people don't realize that it's not like 1 out of a million succeed at this. If you spend time educating yourself, learning from more experienced people and take enough measures to mitigate risk and understand your market, you're gonna do well in this business. 

@Josh Malgieri - I love Knoxville for investing! One of the best places IMO to get a combination of cash flow & appreciation. 

Lots of things going on there between the downtown north redevelopment & south waterfront project, new construction throughout. It has a growing population, 3.63% Job Growth Year over year, 2nd in the state to Nashville in Price growth YOY, Minor League Baseball team is coming back, lots of new jobs to come in, 110 million dollar Airport expansion which will allow more direct flights to Knoxville, Neighborhoods in Knoxville experiencing gentrification, and best of all the houses still cash flow with all the upside. 

@Thuy Pham-Satrappe - I try to buy multi-family properties or single family that offer both. I'll take a higher ROI around 10-12% for the worser areas (Worst I'll go is C to C+) and I'll take a lesser ROI in B- to B neighborhoods more around 8% if it's in an area primed for more appreciation opportunity. I might even consider 6% honestly if the area is good enough. I look for areas where the multi-family is neighbored by single families on the street, better schools (It's hard to find GREAT schools that cash flow for multi), and especially gentrifying areas. Right now I lean slightly more on being in a better area primed for appreciation than the cash flow at the moment which I really feel will benefit me way more in the long run. I've found that Knoxville, TN has been that under the radar market at the moment that is seeing a great combination of cash flow and appreciation so I continue to invest there.