All Forum Posts by: Shay Yao

Hello, everyone! I moved to Atlanta for work a couple of years ago and I just fell in love with city. Now, I’m ready to buy a house and call Atlanta home!

As someone who’s relatively new to town, I would really appreciate some advice on locations of my 1st house-hacking project. The plan is to purchase a single-family house (3 bedrooms) with a large basement or an in-law suite, so I can renovate & live in the basement/in-law suite while renting out the main part of the house.

Regarding location, I currently live in North Druid Hills and I love the area. But the broad boundary I’m looking at is north of 154, east of 75&85, and within the parameter. I’m also looking at East Atlanta because the rent to price ratio is great there. The budget is $400k with a tiny bit wiggle room.

When thinking about location, here are a few things I consider:

1. Convenience. The house needs to be not too far from the happening places (e.g., midtown, downtown).

2. Rental market. The house needs to be easily rented out with a fair price.

3. Schools. This is the area I need a lot of advice on, but overall I’m hoping that the house is in a good school area so I can rent the house out to families.

4. Safety. For example, I need to feel safe walking around the neighborhood with my lady friends.

5. House condition. I prefer not to get a newly renovated house to avoid the premium cost. I'm happy to do some basic touch-ups. I would avoid major rehab simply because this is my 1st time buying a house. No townhouse or condo.

6. Growth. Ideally the house would be in an area with quality population growth (e.g., highly educated, stable jobs) so the price will appreciate in long term. An up & coming area would be ideal, but I would also consider the upcoming recession and how that would impact the up & coming areas.

My question for you is - Based on these preferences, what are the specific areas/neighborhoods I should be looking at?

PS: I’m patient to wait for a good deal. I’m pre-qualified by multiple lenders and I’m on a month-to-month lease. This is my very first major investment and I really want to do it right. If you have any advice regarding the locations or anything that I haven’t thought about, please don’t hesitate to share. I’d really appreciate your help!

Based on those criteria, your best bet is probably Decatur. There are places where the prices are too high, but there are also some areas where it's not too bad. It depends a little bit on the returns you expect. If you're willing to put in some month every month, you can probably find something. But if you want to live for free, you're probably not going to find that north of 154, east of 75/85 and ITP.

There are a lot of great house hacking locations OTP as well. You might have more success there, if the initial search doesn't go well. 

The in-law suite strategy is a good idea. That's where I've seen people have the most success with house hacking recently. 

Best of luck!