All Forum Posts by: Christina V.

Just catching up on this thread- very insightful. @Michaela G. so awesome that you invested at just the right time. I'm looking to buy in 2020 and do a house hack. I see a duplex near the Mercedez Benz stadium for around $200K. How much would a 2brd/1bath rent for in this area now? Is this worth it for a house hack? Based on the area, I am thinking I could rent one side for at least $850. 

I used to live in Atlanta 5 years ago but now looking to return. Catching up on these threads to get up to speed on how the Atlanta market has evolved. Thanks! 

Hello Everyone, 

I have a potentially crazy question. What are your thoughts on buying a condo and holding it for 1-2 years unoccupied without a renter? 

Here's the scenario: I found an amazing deal on a Riverview condo that I am currently closing on. I would be purchasing it and have instant equity $15-20K. However, I relocate quite frequently for work and would likely not be occupying the place for 6 months at a time. The HOA only allows two rentals at a time and both spots are occupied. My thought is, that even if I keep the place for 1-2 years and let the value appreciate, I would be able to sell it and have a pretty solid profit. In that way, it might make sense to snag the place now (I am getting it $15K below market value) even if it is unoccupied for months at a time. It is not an ideal situation but because of the instant equity and proof of a trend of appreciation in the area, I am strongly considering it. Any thoughts?

Thank you very much! 

Hello, I saved up about $20k for my first investment in the southeast WA region. I was originally searching for duplexes but was unable to get one in my area. The duplexes had 6 to 7 offers on them the day of and were really hard to pin down. Since then, I have readjusted my strategy and looked at other options. This week a riverfront condo came on the market for $135K...the duplexes I was looking at were running about $200K. I did some research and found that this particular condo was sold for $105K in 2013. So that is a $30K jump in the last three years. My thought now is to buy the condo and live in it myself (it is newly updated/renovated. In great shape). Then, look to rent it out within the next year. My general thought is that even if I break even with it as a rental for a few years, it seems that riverview property is going up and would appreciate in my current market. I also wouldn't mind having this long term because the view is great. Any thoughts feedback would be greatly appreciated! Cheers!

Brandon Sturgill Great advice. I am interested in learning more about your approach. What fixes did you put in your first property that made the value jump? It sounds like you invested about 10k? Did you add rooms or just updated the property? As a first time investor, I have been told a duplex would be the best option but there are almost none on the market in my area so I am now considering what my next best option might be. It sounds like you had success with a live-in rehab. Any additional thoughts/pointers on that? Thanks so much!

Thank you all for sharing your insights. This SFH in particular has a separate entrance and egress windows already which might make the conversion easier. @Curtis Bidwell Regarding the additional considerations, how did you handle parking and yard use? Is this something that you added to the rental agreement? Thank you! 

Hello there! I have saved up about 20k to get started in real estate investing. I was originally looking for duplexes but they are VERY hard to come buy in my market. I live in southeast WA. I now have set my sights on SFHs that have basement living spaces. I have found one place with 3br/1bath upstairs and 2bedrooms in the basement. It is going for about $170k. Most duplexes in my area are going for over 200k. My thought is that I can convert the basement into an apt--add bathroom and small kitchen and bring in two rental incomes (eventually). I would live in one to start out. Based on the market and the neighborhood --the top could rent for about $1100 and the bottom would be $700+. Is this worthwhile? What other things should I take into considerations? The city I live in allows basement apts as "accessory apts." Has anyone have success with basement rentals? Thank you!