All Forum Posts by: Paul Meiners

Quote from @Wale Lawal:

Quote from @Paul Meiners:

Quote from @Wale Lawal:

@Paul Meiners

Welcome to the next chapter—sounds like you’re making smart, intentional moves for your family’s future! With around $70K and a flexible starting point in Macon, you're in a strong position to house hack in areas within 1–2 hours of Dallas, GA. I'd suggest looking at markets like Cartersville, Rome, and even parts of West Cobb County—these areas are more affordable than metro Atlanta but still offer solid rental demand. Since you're new to Georgia, focus on building relationships with a local investor-friendly agent and property manager early—they can help you navigate neighborhoods to target or avoid.

Good luck!

Thanks so much — I really appreciate the insight and encouragement!

We’re definitely trying to make smart, long-term moves that work for both our family and our future investment goals. Starting out in Macon gives us some breathing room to reset, and we’re being strategic about placing our first couple of house hacks within 1–1.5 hours of Dallas, GA, since we have family there.

I’ll definitely take a closer look at Cartersville, Rome, and West Cobb — affordability with rental demand is exactly what we’re after. We’ll be self-managing our first couple of properties to stay hands-on and maximize cash flow while we get established.

 All the best!

 Thank you!!

Quote from @Wale Lawal:

@Paul Meiners

Welcome to the next chapter—sounds like you’re making smart, intentional moves for your family’s future! With around $70K and a flexible starting point in Macon, you're in a strong position to house hack in areas within 1–2 hours of Dallas, GA. I'd suggest looking at markets like Cartersville, Rome, and even parts of West Cobb County—these areas are more affordable than metro Atlanta but still offer solid rental demand. Since you're new to Georgia, focus on building relationships with a local investor-friendly agent and property manager early—they can help you navigate neighborhoods to target or avoid.

Good luck!

Thanks so much — I really appreciate the insight and encouragement!

We’re definitely trying to make smart, long-term moves that work for both our family and our future investment goals. Starting out in Macon gives us some breathing room to reset, and we’re being strategic about placing our first couple of house hacks within 1–1.5 hours of Dallas, GA, since we have family there.

I’ll definitely take a closer look at Cartersville, Rome, and West Cobb — affordability with rental demand is exactly what we’re after. We’ll be self-managing our first couple of properties to stay hands-on and maximize cash flow while we get established.

Quote from @Nicholas L.:

@Paul Meiners

sounds like you are planning on selling the CT property to pay off debt... but, any way to keep it?  would it work as a rental once you move out?

Great questions — and we’ve definitely gone back and forth on whether to hold onto the CT property or sell.

We currently own a duplex in Plainville, CT that we bought with an FHA loan. We recently refinanced in both of our names (both on the title and the new FHA loan), which unfortunately ties up our FHA eligibility moving forward since you typically can't have two FHA loans unless you meet very specific exceptions.

Our original plan was to hold the CT property and rent out both units, but we’ve got about $37K in debt we want to clear, and selling it would leave us with around $70K in cash — which we’ll need both to house hack again and to have enough emergency reserves for a safe and stable relocation with our 3 kids. So as much as we’d love to keep it, the equity is more valuable to us right now as a launchpad.

If we didn’t need the debt payoff or the liquidity cushion, it could absolutely work as a full rental. It already cash flows with the top unit rented, and rents have gone up since we bought. But realistically, we need a clean financial slate and access to capital to make this move to GA smooth and sustainable.

Appreciate the thought-provoking question — it’s one we’ve wrestled with quite a bit!

Quote from @Josh Bowser:

Paul - 'almost welcome to georgia!'

$70k should be more than enough to get you into a househack.

Duplexes in the NW Quadrant of Atlanta Range from $300k (Douglasville, Austell, Powdersprings, Dallas, Cartersville) to $400k (Smyrna, Marietta, Acworth).

Lots of rental demand for 2 bed 1 bath units.

My wife and I househacked our townhome in Kennesaw before we got married! Awesome experience.

Please reach out - my contact info is in bio. I'd be happy to get you pointed in the right direction when y'all move down.

Thanks so much — really appreciate the warm welcome and all the great info!

We're definitely aiming for a househack, but with three kids we realistically need at least three bedrooms in the unit we'll live in. We're open to duplexes, triplexes, or even quadplexes if any are doable in safe, family-friendly, and investor-friendly neighborhoods around those areas you mentioned (Douglasville, Dallas, Powder Springs, etc.).

If you have any tips on where three-bedroom options pop up — or areas to focus on (or avoid) — I’d love to hear them. I'll definitely reach out once we get a little closer to moving down!

Thanks again for taking the time to help — it really means a lot.

Quote from @Caleb Brown:

I like the plan. Paying off consumer debt and having 70K should be plenty to work with. Hopefully someone local to GA chimes in. It'll be tough for you to move over and over with 3 kids so do it as much as you can until it's not doable. 

Thanks so much, Caleb — I appreciate the feedback and encouragement. Paying off that debt is definitely priority one, and having a clean slate with ~$70K gives us some breathing room to jump into the next phase smartly.

You're right about the challenge of moving around with 3 kids — it's definitely a balancing act! We're trying to be strategic with every move, especially during this transition period. The goal is to make the most of house hacking while it's still feasible for the family, then shift into more permanent plays as things settle.

Hello everyone,

My fiancé, our three kids, and I are preparing to relocate from Connecticut to Georgia in a couple of months. We'll be staying temporarily — and rent-free — with a family friend who was recently widowed, giving us some time to get settled while we find a home.

Currently, we're tied up with our duplex in CT (FHA loan, both of us on the title). The plan is to list the property, use the proceeds to pay off about $37K in debt, and combine our savings and any profits to start fresh in Georgia. Once everything is finalized, we anticipate having around $70K to work with.

We'll initially be in the Macon area, but ultimately aim to move closer to the Dallas, GA area (willing to commute up to 2 hours from Dallas). We have some family there, which will help with the transition.

Our goals are:

House hack a few small multifamily properties

Purchase a primary residence afterward

Eventually buy a vacation/lake house to use personally and later retire in (potentially short-term rent it in the meantime)

I’ve never been to Georgia and am unfamiliar with the local market dynamics, especially around Atlanta and its surrounding areas. If anyone has advice about:

House hacking in/around Atlanta/Dallas, GA

Navigating a big move away from immediate family

Starting out in a new market with no prior local connections

Target neighborhoods or areas to avoid

I would sincerely appreciate it. Thank you for your time and any insights you can share!

Love the BiggerPockets community!