All Forum Posts by: Meredith Carter

@Omer Zakai $900-950 for a 2bd/2ba in Grayson Valley area sounds about right. Might be able to get $1000 if in very good condition? Another thought is Section 8 if you are open to it. They desperately need housing right now, I’m currently renting to nice section 8 tenants in a similar neighborhood, 3/1, with some new updates for $950. 

@Cole Bigbee thanks for the info!

I will definitely check them out!

@Ronald Rohde thank you for that feedback. Meeting with a broker today so hopefully get some better info for the area!

Anybody familiar with commercial real estate in Birmingham, AL? Particularly warehouse buildings… is there a good rule of thumb for estimating rental income based on square footage (obviously there will be a difference between air condition vs not, etc). Would love any info or where I can find more info. Thanks!

@Ryan King I understand your goal of wanting cash flow and knowing appreciation is probably not going to be there. If you are not local, I would be more concerned with finding a property manager who is willing to take on that area and appropriately manage it. You should anticipate possible theft, I think it depends on your risk tolerance. We have section 8 properties (not in this area) and the tenants so far have taken good care of the property. Would recommend it if you are thinking about that area, but still screen potential tenants extensively. Best of luck!

@Renee Casey thanks. Do you know how much it costs roughly to get them on separate meters? And I now know that an electrician does this, not the power company, correct? 

@Alex Verdugo thanks for the input. So is $100 above the rent price including power and water? Any complaints? 

@Tracy Streich thank you! Good to know. My first thought was to call the power company. 

Does anyone have experience with a multi family property only have one meter for power?

Doing my due diligence on a pair of duplexes around the Birmingham, AL area that each have their own meter. The current owner just pays the power bill and then charges the tenants power to their monthly rent.

I have always had tenants pay their own utilities and have it in their name.

Is it hard to have the power company split the duplexes into two separate meters or should I just add power into the rent per month?

Any advice or suggestions would be great!

Birmingham is bigger than Huntsville. It definitely depends on which job industry you’re referring to. Birmingham has a lot of industry and a lot of plants/warehouses opening and have recently opened in Birmingham. Both have areas that will appreciate in the near future.