All Forum Posts by: Spencer Sutton

Hey @Eric Harnden, 

If you want an investor/property management take on the Birmingham market, you can stop by our office. I'm happy to meet with you. Just shoot me a message if you're interested!

And best of luck!

Spencer

Hey @James Runkle there are several solid PMs here in Birmingham! You probably want to make a list of a few and interview them. 

I know that several out of state investors have interviewed me when they were looking for BHM PMs. 

Also, there's a large group of wholesalers and turnkey guys who put their properties on a site called Invest Birmingham (most of them are Homevestor franchisees). You may find something that fits your description or make a good connection. 

Lastly, if you want to learn more about investing in Birmingham rentals, you'll find lots of great videos on YouTube.

Best of luck! Let me know if I can be of help - Spencer

Hey @Zac Celli, 

I think finding a class b property at 100k is not possible...unless you're marketing for deeply discounted houses directly here in BHM. 

You're probably looking to buy in Centerpoint/Huffman/Pinson area - C class.

I might advise you to look in other C areas where there is much less focus from out of state investors. Also, the rental inventory in 35215/35235 is high due to institutional focus as well as out of state investors. We've seen days on market creep up over the past 12 months. 

Best of luck to you!

Hey @Deric Samples , 

I'm sure some local wholesalers can jump on here and give you their expert opinions. 

I believe it's a crowded market but like anywhere, there are plenty of opportunities to wholesale to fix and flip buyers or long term buyers. 

I have some friends who buy from local wholesalers and do well. 

My advice is to do your homework on the front end b/c there are some areas that are much less desirable and your ability to sell those houses will be limited. 

You can watch some solid videos online about investing in the Birmingham market and get up to speed on the best areas.

Connect with @Bryan Miles who has been an active investor in Birmingham since the 30's. Just kidding...he's not that old! But he has been investing here for the past 20+ years.

I hope that helps!

Spencer

Hey @Kevin Tran , I do believe that there is strong demand for the nicer areas. However, they're much tougher to comp correctly from a rental perspective. That's mostly because there aren't a lot of rentals in the area and that each home tends to be unique and not a cookie cutter like the one next door. We manage several houses in Homewood and Vestavia. We may have one or two in Mountain Brook...not a lot of rentals in that municipality. Hoover is a great area to buy rental houses in if you can get comfortable with the numbers.

You make some good points, @Josh Anderson. 

I would also say there are other aspects of owning rental property that come into play for investors. 

Some other key factors:

1. The age of the home - the areas that I described as D/F above are mostly older homes that come with more frequent repairs and usually higher utilities for the tenants.

2. These areas usually don't get better, they get worse - If you buy in Tarrant, Inglenook, West End, etc... there is a much greater chance (99%) that the good street turns worse over the course of several years. I have owned rental houses in some of these areas since 2004 these streets typically go the other way.

3. The investor timeframe - If you're a wholesaler/flipper, you can buy deep, take greater risks, and make a profit in this market. If you're a long-term rental investor, you have to think 10, 15, 20 years down the road. You're thinking through rehabs, possible evictions, vacancy, vandalism, etc... Buying in the rougher areas can turn into a recipe for disaster for out of state investors who aren't extremely careful.

I love Birmingham and want more investors to do well. I just believe out of state investors don't need to believe all of the hype and take due diligence seriously before buying in some of these popular Birmingham areas.

Birmingham is a competitive market and unless you live here and source motivated sellers yourself, you are likely going to pay too much. 

It's my experience that out of state investors pay too much and they're not educated on the areas enough. They believe TK providers who say that Centerpoint is a B area when it's clearly not a B area. 

Here are my thoughts on some popular Birmingham areas:

A - Mtn Brook, Vestavia, Homewood

B - Alabaster, Calera, Trussville

C - Centerpoint, Pleasant Grove, Hueytown 

D - East Lake, Ensley, West End

F - Wylam, Inglenook, and a lot of other places

There's a lot more that could be said about how to invest in Birmingham real estate for long-term wealth creation. Patience is the biggest key. Have a long-term goal, be disciplined, and do your homework.

This didn't really answer your questions above, but I hope that it's helpful!

Hey @Maura McGraw - there are a lot of solid property managers in Birmingham that can help you. Of course, working for gkhouses, I am slightly biased!

Regardless who you end up using, we have some investor focused videos that may be useful to you or your investors...best of luck!

Spencer

Hey @Account Closed glad to hear you were in Birmingham! I met with two other investors from out of state last week who were also here for due diligence. Your initial assessment is pretty spot on...a zip code can vary from block to block. Unfortunately, things can change on a good block in a matter of months if there happen to be prolonged vacancies or a burnout. 

There are a few other solid neighborhoods/zip codes you might want to consider. 

And I would second what Mark Byers said about staying away from Tarrant!

Best of luck to you!

Spencer

Hey @Aman Sidhu great to hear you're coming to Birmingham! I would be more than happy to help introduce you to some local investors. I work for gkhouses, so I am a bit biased from a property management perspective. But, regardless of which path you end up choosing, I love helping investors succeed. 

If you want to catch up while you're in town, let me know, and we'll make it happen. Best of luck to you!