All Forum Posts by: Tim White

@Samuel Smith Good to hear that you are looking into investing in the Huntsville area. In addition to research and networking on BiggerPockets, I would recommend going to local meetups. You can find them on meetup.com or Facebook groups.

Also, try to add value to other local investors by seeing how they analyze deals, walk properties with them, etc. Exchange some time in order to learn some hands on knowledge. Shoot me a DM if you would like to connect.

Hi @Natasha Dillon,

Have heard great things about Michelle Cummings property management.  I would also look into others in the area just for seeking due diligence such as Dietrich Property management, Astro, RCPM, and Hamlett just to name a few.

Hi @Herndon Davis,

It really depends on your preference. I personally do mostly buy and hold however there is generally enough equity on the deals to flip as well especially with the appreciation of late.

Just so the thread won't get away from the original post, my only mentioned of the army base is in regards to perspective for Huntsville as a whole.  The Army Base is not what would think of in most military towns. As a military dependent I spent alot of time bases as a kid and this is not that type of town.  The arsenal has only 900 Activity Duty military personnel out of the 42,000 employees that work on post.  Those employees due work for the Army however in the non traditional capacity as civilians and contractors.  Most of the military personnel that I have encountered in my 10 years of working on post are officers, not enlisted personnel.  The 7 communities on Redstone are privatized. And there are NO barracks on post.  Also, I have rented to a few military families as well although majority of our tenants are not military even with the proximity to Gate 9 (most visited gate), Gate 8, Gate 7, and Gate 10 of the arsenal.  

Link to the burning of the barracks: https://www.waff.com/story/25341341/redstone-report/

Statistics of the arsenal:  https://www.mybaseguide.com/army/124-3546/redstone_arsenal_our_military

@Mike S.

Thanks for the correction.  Where do you find your statics?  

My statement of no soldiers is referring to there aren't any barracks here.  Those were torn down years ago and replaced with hotels on post.  Also, of the over over 40K employees that come on Redstone everyday you rarely see any greensuiters.  The greensuiters you do see here are often officers that are 0-4 level and above that work for program offices.

Not sure what AreaVibes is however as an investor in the area I can tell you there are no areas of Huntsville that seem very bad.  My scale for this is there are not many areas that appear unsafe when walking through at night.  It isn't obvious visually to know where the crime infested areas are.  Also when you compare the Huntsville market to other towns in the southeast you don't have as many issues e.g. Birmingham, Montgomery, Jackson, MS.  One of the reason for this anyone that wants a job here can find a job.  There are now hiring and help wanted signs all over the place.  

You should also be aware there are no soldiers on the army base.  It is mostly scientist, engineers, and logisticians.

Hi @Kevin Roy When you say multifamily are you referencing properties 5 units and under?  As a whole most of Huntsville is growing and the multifamily space has seen a significant amount of appreciation however the rental rates for the smaller multifamily has not seen the same appreciation.  This is one reason that I still have not got into the small multifamily space however I do know of many others making decent profits.  Many of these older properties are in 35816, 35805, and 35803.  There is not much new construction in this space.

@Einat Menashe I agree with @Mike S. about the property that is on Eastbrook is a C-. Those deals were a lot cheaper a few years ago. Also I would recommend staying away from doing a BRRR in those areas around $50K due to the appraisals. Most appraisers will use comps from the MLS and properties especially in that price range are sold outside of the MLS meaning it will be difficult to prove the value of your property.

@Vincent Chen

I am not a flipper so my opinion doesn't mean too much however things are pretty competitive overall in the Huntsville market.  There is not that much inventory at reasonable prices in the city so if you were able to find a deal with enough equity in I believe that it is possible to pull off some flips.  

What specific contacts are you looking for?

@Latavia Banks

What makes this property a good deal?  If it is a good deal it relatively easy to find the funding for it.  I would recommend using one of the biggerpockets calculators to ensure that all the numbers workout to your expectations.  That includes holding costs, rehab, insurance, taxes, vacancies and the I didn't even expect this to happen expenses.

Based on the situation you described you would need to give equity in the deal or use a private lender for a portion of the transaction since you do not have a down payment for a traditional lender.