All Forum Posts by: Keaton Roberson

Yeah I'm thinking that Cobb County will be my best bet to get something reasonable that could work for renting out rooms or a separate unit all together. I agree that the dowtown areas of Atlanta look to be priced too high for what I am looking to do.

I am thinking that I will want to stay in the range of 200-250 in about a year or so @Ryan Johnston. 

How difficult would it be to change a SFH to a multi unit by renovating the basement into a separate living space? @Derek Hughes, @Parker Stiles @Ryan Johnston I don't know if this would be too much of a pain to go through the city or it would lower the resale value too much to even consider this an option?

I am thinking that I could live more than comfortably in a basement apartment and get more rent for the  upstairs rental.his could change but that seems fair if I can switch a SFH with a basement in the Cobb area, to a multifamily with a separate living space where I could live and rent out the main floor.

Thanks!

Hey everyone, Has anyone had success in house hacking in the Atlanta area with multi-family units or basement apartments? If so where did you find this deal and what did it look like? I know my first step will be to house hack and I'm struggling with finding anything online that looks like it could work. I'd like to stay in the Midtown to Marietta areas as I am working in Vinings / Smyrna and some success stories or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi BP Community,

I have recently become serious about taking my next steps in Real Estate and I am hoping that I can get advice and feedback from others in the industry on my ideas and current plan. This is very rough and quick to the point. Any advice/ criticism is welcome.

Background:

Recent college graduate with a degree in Fiance working in Atlanta as a financial analyst with a good steady income. 

Graduated with a substantial amount of student loan debt that I plan to get rid of before venturing out into any sort of investments. (Not of a fan of any consumer/ non-mortgage / asset-backed debt)

Growing My Knowledge:

I am now in the learning process. I just graduated college and I am planning to have my student loans completely paid in full next October where I will then have my personal finances in order to begin my investing. I am actively reading as many books as I can get my hands on while listening to podcasts on my commute to work and utilizing all the tools on BP available. I plan to participate actively on the forums to absorb as much information as possible withing the next year to year and a half while I am learning.

Where I need some advice is: how exactly to begin learning where I will eventually want to invest in the Atlanta area and begin focusing on trends that I am seeing in that community? I am currently unaware of how to see what houses are selling for since I am not a realtor. Can I reach out to a realtor/ will they be willing to help me if I don't plan to buy for another year or so?

Taking Action:

My plan to eventually enter the market will be searching for a multifamily that I will owner occupy one of the units to lower/cover my monthly living expenses. While house hacking my plan is:

• Live on current salary and continue to invest in my real estate portfolio with my income monthly.
• I will not touch the NOI produced from any investments to let me portfolio compound and grow over time.
• Ideally will be focusing on the multi-family market in Atanta to begin with.
• I have worked in student housing property management and love the numbers on student rentals
  • Eventually would like to own properties in the Statesboro / Athens communities as they have large student rental needs
• Eventually I am hoping that my rental income will replace my currently income and I can take on rentals full time and continue to grow my portfolio.

I realize that this may seem like an extremely elementary plan, however this has been my plan since my sophomore year in high school. I am looking to gain any advice in getting more knowledgeable about my market and any tips on getting started in general. 

Thanks in advance BPers!

Keaton

Learn. Assist. Action.

Looking to learn as much as possible in the next 12 months on the Atlanta market as well as investing as a whole. Eventually helping tenured investors in my market while learning on the job leading to myself taking action in my first deal!

Best of luck to all of you!

Keaton

Hey @Mikla Bolling,

Welcome to the community! There is a meetup going on in the Atlanta area on the 31st if you are interested in attending.

Atlanta Monthly Meetup

Best of luck,

Keaton

Hey James,

I am also new to the community looking to grow my network in the Atlanta market. I think you might want to look into maybe attending the event here: Atlanta Monthly Meetup. A bunch of real estate professionals and people new to the field will be meeting to bounce ideas off each other, meet new investors and surround ourselves with like-minded individuals.

Best of luck,

Keaton

Hey @James Allen,

While new to the investing realm, I've lived in Atlanta my entire life and can give you a generalized breakdown of the areas in and around the city. Some of the more family friendly/ affluent areas would be the north Atlanta suburbs of Cobb County / Forsyth County such as Marietta, Kennesaw, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, Cumming etc. (Googling Atlanta and dragging the mouse around these areas will populate more locations) The up and coming areas for singles and young professionals are going to be the northern towns inside the perimeter of the city such as Buckhead, Brookhaven, Virginia Highlands, Vinings, and you can even include Midtown as it has seen a revitalization. The areas you will most likely not want to get into will be located south of the heart of the city or right south of downton. These will include College Park, East Point, some parts of Decatur and the lower end of Dekalb County. These areas will provide cheaper homes, however if that fits into your strategy.

I hope that this helps you in your search.

Good luck, and welcome to Atlanta!!

Keaton

I'm looking forward to it Jered Sturm thanks for putting this together. I will definitely be in attendance. Keaton

The book "Start" by Jon Acuff is a great resource to get over the hurdle begin your journey. It speaks on how to disqualify the negative comments from friends and family and follow your passion.

Thank you @Robert Gilstrap ! I will definitely reach out as I begin to learn more about the business and come across questions. I know books and forums will not be able to answer all the questions I will have, so I greatly appreciate it.