All Forum Posts by: Nithin K.

Hi there,

So I have been looking at the Atlanta area for buying a rental property. I am not into fix and flip for now and would like the purchase an SFH to generate enough cash to cover the mortgage and expenses.

I am looking at this neighborhood - Mountain Oaks in Stone Mountain. Schools are average. But the houses seems good value. Like for 150-200k, you get a really good house and built in the late 90s. The communities have HOA.

Anyway, what do you guys think of the neighborhood. I know Stone Mountain is kind of frowned upon- but these subdivisions (mountain oaks and also waters edge a little further north) look like oases in the desert. No crime worries, very good houses, good value for money when you are looking at an investment for 5years plus. Probably people look down upon the entire stone mountain as crime ridden and the perception has been doing a lot of damage. But beneath the surface- I see there are neighborhoods that are really good. 

But can someone local or familiar with the area tell me - how hard is it to find renters for $1400-1500. These primarily looks like an African American community with not much diversity at the moment. Are people here mostly professionals looking to commute to downtown Atlanta or Decatur or more middle aged/ 'settled in life' kind of people?

I am definitely looking at the scope of appreciation in the neighborhood as cash-flow wise - this property wont do me much good. Taxes are around 3000 annually also.

What about the proposed expansion of MARTA? Will that bring an appreciation / buzz to these communities or are they not planned for this region? 

Any and all insight will be much appreciated. 

I am wondering if there are people on here who had success investing in Illinois? I live in Illinois, suburbs of Chicago. The high property taxes , negative population growth all had me rule out Illinois as a potential place to buy an SFH as a rental property. But due to the slow pace and difficulties that comes with finding the right SFH investment in another state, I am having a rethink. Plus me being a first time investor, all the advice is to look out local. So anyone here who had success in buy and hold around Chicago? Or even a BRRR? Anyone investor friendly agent/ contractor or property management that you can recommend?

Originally posted by @Allison Karrels:

I like the idea of JWB - but getting insurance in Florida can be a real pain.  My current insurance provider, USAA, limits me to 4 houses in Florida. 

Hi Allison, what do you like about them ? 

I will be happy to talk to you Curt - I will let you spend the weekend with the baby and reach out sometime next week.

Abt my question though- the general consensus for investors here seems to be that 200 is a good cash flow number- net. Honestly, no turnkey company seems to be able to give that, unless you put >25% downpayment, factor in your tax savings , pay the principal portion of your mortgage from that 200 and some also want you to add an appreciation factor to meet that 200 ballpark

I am evaluating these turnkey companies as well and plus some more. I am yet to have my first call with MemphisInvest, they have a lead time of a week or so to set up a call apparently. Norada gave me mixed signals, the properties seemed overpriced for the market. Make sure you ask them their definition of A, B and C neighborhoods. Plus there are pros and cons of them not being local to the market. JWB - they haven't yet shown me any offerings or real numbers, but some past case studies based on which I ran some cash on cash return calculations myself. They do not meet the range what we keep hearing here as 'good' for investment. I am yet to understand what is their USP, what keeps them going. They also strictly need you to use their own property management and if you sell your property, you do need to use them as your broker. Also things like they get to keep the tenants late fee. Take a look at the copy of their property management agreement at their website. Anyway there is one thing I can tell you, all these companies show returns based off of different calculations and they also differ in what they include and exclude in their math. If you want to compare apples to apples, make sure you have your own excel spreadsheet. Please DM if you want more info. I also had a general question to the group, When you all do cash on cash return calculations, the 200-300 cash flow that you say- is that including or excluding the principal you are paying on your loan? Do you also consider the tax savings, to meet the 200-300 cash flow? BP's calculator does not use these two to meet the cash on cash return, so far as I understand.

Guys, when we work with agents or companies who are investors themselves, how does the conflict of interest part work?

If the agent or company think it really is a great opportunity, wont they rather invest in it themselves? I am yet to find a good deal, that at least according to the webinars, is a great investment.

Also, do you guys mind sharing how did you go about finding your 'great deals'? I have been looking at zillow mostly and meh- no comparison to the great deals that others talk about.  

Hi guys, I am deciding between different cities to buy a rental property.

This is going to be my first and I am thinking in terms of cash flow and ease of finding renters, Cleveland is a good option. I would like it to cost the least possible leaving some capital and cash leverage to buy others later on. Anyway, I have been torn between the east and west side as I see neighborhood grading differs vastly. I would like to stick with a B or B- is possible.

I did look at the various turnkey offerings- the impression I got was they are majorly C/D areas with mostly 1-1.25% rent/price ratio; or otherwise overpriced- i am sure they need to make money too, no judgement there. 

So anyway its time I got some boots on the ground help. 

1. Have you guys got any recommendations- I guess what I need is an investor friendly agent  with a very good knowledge of the market. Someone who don't mind doing the initial screening and send me only the potentially good opportunities. 

2. If I were to buy a property that needs repair- how do you guys go about getting estimates prior to making an offer? Do you guys know any reliable contracting companies/pros?

Hey guys, wondering if I could talk to someone who recently bought or buying an investment rental property in Kansas City, MO. 

I am on the lookout for an investment rental in an A/B area. Despite researching for a while, I am not able to find any good resources on the neighborhood grading/classes. 

How did you guys go about finding an area? I am hoping to find something between 40-90k purchase price. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4704/42419-cleveland-neighborhood-grades 

So a tk property(sort of- they dont own the property) company, shows me a property in Euclid Ohio, Its an SFR with 3bed/2bath property- going by the photos seems reasonably well rehabbed. Its going to cost almost 70k and they think it could be rented for 900-1000. The purchase price is 60-65k, but the company adds a fee of 3.5% on top of it, plus some other rehab expenses. (Very dismayed about the 3.5% which I have to pay as the buyer).

Its a C class neighborhood it looks like. Is this worth pursuing further, on paper- it does make mathematical sense. Can I do better?

The house looks quite good in photos(brick house and beautiful and its hard not to think about it)