All Forum Posts by: Spencer Sutton

Hey Shawn,

We would love to have a conversation with you about our company, gkhouses.com. 

Feel free to give me or Nick Goudreau a call at your convenience.

Best of luck whoever you end up choosing!

@J Benoit You are right!  Several good managers that aren't on the list...maybe we should create a full list and highlight the strengths of each group.

I thought this post was worth a share since there seems to be a fair amount of interest in buying Birmingham rental property (mostly B, C, D).  This was written by Matthew Whitaker and posted on our site earlier today. - Spencer

We’ve been managing homes for well over ten years in the Birmingham area and currently manage over 1,000 homes for others. We meet with hundreds of people every year and many more read our blog articles and eBooks on rental homes and trust our opinion on all things rental.

Because we’ve built this trust, frequently we get asked the question, “Other than gkhouses, who's the best property manager in Birmingham?” In the past we might attempt to avoid this question, because it required us to be “uncomfortably transparent” about our competitors! Well, we’ve decided to change our approach and be uncomfortably transparent with you in this blog.

So here goes nothing . . .

1. AHI Properties - The owner of AHI Properties, Bryan Jenkins, is one of the most honest men I know. I’d have to put him at #1, because of the length of time he has been managing homes in the Birmingham area and his membership in the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) with me. Their office is in Shelby County, off of Valleydale Road.
2. Alabama Rental Managers - ARM is also found down in Shelby County and specializes in Shelby County rental properties. They manage a lot of houses and have a very good collection of rental homes - mostly in the A and B class neighborhoods.
3. Decas Group Property Managers - Probably the youngest company in my list, Decas was started by J. Benoit and has grown very big, very quickly. They have good, knowledgeable, people who manage for them. Many of these people have been in the business a long time and have managed in a number of different cities. Decas manages a lot of houses for local and out of state investors and seem to do a good job.
4. Mega Agent Rental Management - Located down 280, Mega Agent Rental Management, much like Alabama Rental Managers, manages a lot of very desirable homes. The owners are very smart people and have done a great job marketing their services to owners.
5. Red Rock Realty Group - Red Rock has been around forever. They used to be called The Property Managers, but changed their name a number of years ago when they changed ownership. They manage single family homes, multifamily properties and commercial properties. They have a solid reputation in the Birmingham market.
6. Rudulph Real Estate - Ok, I said five, but I couldn’t leave this one out because this company has been a staple in Birmingham as long as I can remember...and who hasn't seen their bright yellow signs? When people think of Birmingham management, this is the name that has the “top of mind” awareness. John Rudulph has really built quite a business and is an excellent manager.

So you’ve asked and now you know. I’d consider speaking with some or all of these. While you are speaking with them, keep in mind two things that we’ve found Owners are interested in - once they sign with a manager - Trust and Communication.

@Jarrod Cook

Roger that!

Hey @Jarrod Cook

"A class" being Mtn. Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, etc...?

I may have some contacts that I could shoot your way if so.

@Jay Hinrichs So true...it's interesting to see how investors react when I tell them I would never buy a house in a certain area b/c I know what's going to happen to it in 2-3 years.  They listen...then they can't turn down the 'deal'!!  Crazy.

This weekend I'm shooting a video for investors who keep calling/emailing about where they should buy rental houses in Birmingham.  Hopefully it will help some folks.

@Jay Hinrichs Yeah...good for you guys. Glad it's worked out so well.  

I have no clue what TK providers in other markets make. My point was, if someone can make 20-30k on a deal, why would they feel compelled to keep the house themselves.

I've been in the Birmingham RE business since 2003 and have seen a few good TK providers...not many though.

We just took over management of 8 houses from one local TK provider/property management group. Three of the houses had been disqualified from Section 8 w/in the past month and the other houses are disasters.

My advice to any/everyone buying TK in B'ham....visit B'ham, talk to as many PMs as you can about areas, visit with TK references who have owned houses here more than two years, etc...  

Don't be lazy...do your homework. 

@Jay Hinrichs sounds like you're taking my comments personally...hope that's not the case. 

At the end of the day, it really depends on how deep a TK provider buys a house, right?  

Just because someone buys a great house from a motivated seller doesn't necessarily mean they'll pass that discount on to a TK buyer. Would you?  

I know I made that much on some wholesale deals in Birmingham back in the day. It's about supply/demand and how good you are at buying houses.

I can't speak to your group moving to Decas from gkhouses.com...Matthew's never brought it up.  I hope it's been a great move for you all and everyone is happy.

Sorry to hear this @Ann Howell 

They've been doing this for years under different entity names.

I know that Birmingham is a very popular place for people interested in Turnkey.  My advice would be to do two things:

1. Come to Birmingham and see the investment before it's purchased...that way you know the streets and better understand the area and neighborhood you're buying in.  There are several area where I would never buy a rental house...unfortunately, it's easy to buy a cheap house there and sell it to out of state investors as a turnkey deal when in all reality it's a piece of junk that will end up costing the investor thousands.

2. Visit with several property manager in the city.  There are enough groups here that are honest and will shoot you straight about the people you're thinking about working with and the houses you're considering buying.  Asking the right questions can save you big money.

@Joe Bertolino the reason why it's is popular is simple...turnkey providers can make 20k - 30k per transaction.  I used to buy/sell here in Birmingham but to local investors....out of state investors will pay a lot more than local groups.

@Linval T. Thanks for the kind words.

These guys are solid investors and had been in the houses.  The only problem was the character of the people they were dealing with here in Birmingham. 

Their houses are now on their way to recovery and hope to be moving in the right direction soon!