All Forum Posts by: Michaela G.

One thing to look at is that the 1st phase of new construction is usually much cheaper than later builds, because nobody wants to be the first one, so they lure people in with lower prices. 

For example - a subdivision in East Point (Atlanta) - the builder started in the mid 180s for the 1st homes. Now the last built homes, a year later,  are in the 240s. 

i bought 4 different townhomes in an East point complex within a 6 months period and paid 119k...140k..150k...150k...my rents are 1600 and I've had no problem getting tenants. 

i paid full listing price for these. So you can get those numbers. For myself I bought them for appreciation, as there were/are some projects happening and values are jumping.

i don't know any more than the article. I did read somewhere that you're no longer allowed to do credit and background check for voucher holders. It's crazy

https://www.wabe.org/atlanta-landlords-cant-turn-away-section-8-tenants-under-adopted-city-council-legislation/

So, I understand that Atlanta city council approved this new legislation, that section 8 tenants are now included in the protected class and can not get turned down. 

Looks to me that this might increase the problem, that they're trying to solve. This is what I see:

- Many landlords of single family homes, once current tenants leave, will rather renovate and sell to owner-occupants than jumping through all of the hoops that section 8 requires. That will eliminate those homes from the rental pool, which then lowers the supply and likely will raise rents further. 

- It may take a long time to get approved by HUD and may need $ thousands in upgrades to come up to HUDs requirements for some properties. No rental income during that time.

- Landlords may increase rents to avoid having to turn down section 8 renters, because they might not be looking at higher rates

Will it really solve the problem? If a voucher holder were to call me today and asked, if I accepted vouchers - if I said that I certainly would, but that the property is not currently approved and it may take months to get that approval - would they stick around? Just saying.......

This sounds like something that could turn around with something similar to what I did in the Atlanta Pittsburgh community. I renovated 12 units, started totally fresh, without tenants. Then I advertised it as a creative community , only creative people could live there. Everybody has to have some kind of creative dream that they're working on (while they usually have a day job that pays the bills). Creatives came from all over Atlanta, because they loved the idea of living in close vicinity to other creatives. I don't ever have a problem filling a vacancy, because it's so unique. Tenants are quirky and I have the occasional eviction, but it's nothing like the type of tenants I had in the neighborhood before. 

FYI a lot of crime statistics around airports are skewed . Take College Park and East Point: On paper they are some of the most crime riddled neighborhoods. Property crime is through the roof. BUT, those neighborhoods are full of hotels, that double or triple or quadruple the number of people in the city, but they aren't counted as residents. Most of the counted crime consists of  car break-ins at those hotels. So, then the crime statistic percentages are based on the full-time residents, not counting visitors, and it throws everything off. 

I've had to deal with it in the Pittsburgh community and ended up getting a non-conforming letter. 

If you can say that you thought you saw people going into the lower level, before you bought it, it might work, but it might not. 

The rule is that it has to be used in the way (duplex) within the past year in order to qualify. So, having had just one unit occupied does not work. It would have had to be used as a duplex within the past 12 months

Please keep in mind, that it's not just about zoning, but also that rooming houses are usually frowned upon and neighbors can turn you into code enforcement. 

You may not like the term 'rooming house', but essentially, that's what house hacking is. 

Definitely don't go by the zoning listed in the tax assessor website. It's not current. A lot of our areas used to be R5, but were changed to R4 or R4b and they won't update. Call zoning. 

I think it will be difficult to change zoning. If I was a neighbor to this house I would fight it, because it'd bring my property value down, having more people coming and going and more cars parked. So, you can have all of your paperwork in order, but the neighbors will have a say in this. So, as an investor I would not look at that possibility. 

But there are areas that allow ADU's now - so, I don't know exactly whether a basement apartment would be considered an ADU or whether it needs to be free standing.

I don't know anything about it, but maybe it would be good for you to call a couple of independent insurance adjusters? Your insurance will always take the least costly route and I personally am also surprised, that they say that you wouldn't be liable. But that's based on the problem being on your end. If the problem is the HOA's, then they should be responsible for at least the downstairs neighbor.

Make sure that you get in writing from the plumber, that they had to put the snake in that far and that in his opinion the problem wasn't inside your unit. 

But this is just off the top of my head and I have no experience with insurance claims. 

If you did this, would that eliminate the problem, if the problem is flushed tampons and baby wipes and grease? 

Likely not.

If your tenant keep flushing this stuff down the drain, then they're the problem. Granted, if the line is old, there may be rough corners and edges, that are more prone to snagging things, but overall, it could be that educating your tenants could be more important than lining. Let them know, if the plumber finds those particular items in their drain, they would have to pay for the snaking.