All Forum Posts by: Rachel Leonard

Congratulations @Chad Benedict It sounds like you tried to build rapport with the seller and that she liked you which is always a great starting point for negotiations especially when there's competition.  Thanks for detailing your deal and for being honest about the things you need to work on for the next one.

Hi @Matt Riley. I'm a fellow Australian who lives in Atlanta. I didn't move here for real estate - we were transferred with my husband's work. I still see potential in the Atlanta market although it has rebounded a lot since the recession so don't expect to clean up with rock bottom prices.

I would make sure that you are investing in an area of the US which has strong employment and growth. I like Atlanta's prospects for growth because it has large companies based here already (Delta, Coca-Cola) plus new ones moving in. Mercedes just announced they are moving their US HQ down to Atlanta. Plus there's an Australian club! Because it's on the east coast it does take longer to get to Australia so if this is a big factor for you then you'd be better off being based on the west coast (although Qantas does direct flights from Dallas to Sydney).

Have you been on the Somersoft website in Australia? There's a section there which covers Aussies investing in US real estate. It could be worth trying to connect with others who have already bought property here.

PM me if you need any more info.

Hi @Dennis Orlov . Sounds like you live close to me. My kids go to Peachtree ES.

Welcome to BP. We actually just had an investor meet-up at lunchtime today in Dunwoody. If you want to meet some other local investors then try to come along to the next one. It will be announced in the below area so keep an eye out:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-events-and-happenings

I'd also recommend joining a local REIA. I belong to GAREIA and it's a great way to network with more experienced investors.

Good luck,

Rachel

Welcome @Michael Grant 

You'll find lots of great resources on here so make sure you checkout the posts on Wholesaling and the podcasts. Search for other investors in your area too.

For me wholesaling is a means to an end, i.e., a way to get funds to buy my own property. If you have access to a VA loan and some savings for rehab etc... then why not try to find a property for yourself?

@Jay Hinrichs. I do some work for a company in Atlanta which buys and manages lots of properties for hedge funds. They've moved into other US markets in the past year (Houston, Dallas and Orlando) and are looking to expand further so they aren't relying on the local market. There aren't as many big buyers in Atlanta now for this company and they are also shifting their buying to higher end houses.

Hi @Quinn Boyle . Welcome to BP. You'll find there's an active Atlanta based community on these forums so set up a keyword for 'Atlanta' and you'll be notified of relevant posts. You can also look for local investors in the area. There's actually a BP meet-up in Atlanta next week and I'm sure there will be others so keep an eye out for future meetings so you can come along.

Hi David. I do agree that if your strategy is to flip or rehab then it may be a better approach to do this locally unless you can find a trustworthy partner in another location.  However, with rentals I don't see any reason why you can't invest in other states or countries so long as you buy right and have a good PM. I own rentals in London and I haven't been back there since I left in 2009. My PM looks after them and the funds go direct to my UK bank account. They even take care of any rehab/ repairs between tenancies.

If the returns are better in other areas or you want to manage risk and not have all your houses in one location then why not look elsewhere?

Hi @Anna Watkins & @David Begley. Thanks for the response. We have some ethnically diverse areas in OTP too. My kids go to Peachtree ES in Norcross which is 45% Hispanic so they are definitely in the minority. But I know what you mean when I go out to visit some friends who live in Suwanee. 

I probably would have preferred to live ITP but my husband's office is in Norcross so we ended up out this way. Before we moved to Atlanta we lived in Singapore and didn't even have a car so I had to get used to not being able to walk to shops etc..

Thanks to everyone else who contributed to this thread also. I have a friend who lives in Kirkwood and another in Decatur so I'm familiar with those areas but it's good to get local viewpoints on surrounding areas that I don't know as well. Hopefully I'll get to meet some of you at the BP Meet up.

Thanks everyone for all the input on Atlanta neighborhood's. I live here but I'm from overseas and have struggled to make sense of ITP and it seems to be such a mixed bag.  Honestly the only white, middle class people I know of who live ITP are my Australian friends.

@Anna Watkins & @David Begley - why are you looking at turnkeys in other areas? I thought that Atlanta was one of the better rental markets. Are you aiming to spread your risk or are you looking for better returns?