All Forum Posts by: Yinglu Wang

@Yinglu Wang

I highly recommend Property Frameworks. Their fees are similar without the annual fee but do charge 100% of the first month's rent as a marketing fee. I have been using them since April and they have done a great job for me. 

https://www.propertyframeworks...

Hi @Yinglu Wang! My wife and I own a duplex in East Ridge. The tenants have been great! There are some great areas of East Ridge and some not so great. The south side of East Ridge toward the East is up and coming. It is expanding with new restaurants, businesses and soccer complex coming soon. The north end by the ridge/tunnels is nice. That is where our duplex is. In the middle of east ridge there are some flood areas to look out for. There's a lot of water around the area. A sub contractor I spoke with recently told me that some homes have issues with moisture from the ground. Such was the case with our duplex. There was never a vapor barrier put in place under the home or gutters along the roof. We didn't realize it would be a problem. Half of the sub-floor needed to be replaced about two years after we purchased it. When we purchased, the reputable inspector told us that everything was good under the house. So it must have deteriorated quickly. We put about 10,000 in floor replacement and renovations this year. Many of the homes in East Ridge are older so I would recommend making sure that the property has good drainage and a vapor barrier. We love Chattanooga! It is a great area to invest. 

@Yinglu Wang I am a local Real Estate Agent and investor in Chattanooga. I have lived here for 26 years and can tell you that the areas you have mentioned are usually pretty safe. There used to be an interactive map that broke down crime rates by type, but the city took it down when they took down the Right2Know website. @Dan Beaulieu may be able to tell you more about the areas he has invested in where he experienced bullet holes in properties. I think East Ridge is one of the best investments right now just because of the Border Region District tax incentives that were put into place for commercial developers. So the area seems to be growing pretty rapidly as far as price per square is concerned. If you can get a good deal there, I would definitely jump on it because I have had a lot of first-time homebuyers getting priced out of the market out there (which has been the mostly predominant market for that area) or get into bidding wars. Red Bank values have been going up because they have latched onto the whole North Shore living/culture of being in close proximity to the river, so this is a highly desirable area and should be easy to get a renter into quickly. Hixson has its own little pockets, but there are some decent schools there and it is a healthy rental market for young families. Hope this helps!

@Yinglu Wang

What size are your properties?  We use SDMC for our apartments. Pretty sure they do all sizes.  We pay $30 per unit per month plus payroll for 100+ units... not sure what that translates to for smaller properties as a percentage...  They’re in West Columbia.

https://www.sdmcinc.com/

Hey! @Yinglu Wang I second Josh's criteria for evaluating property values in Chattanooga, I'm actually going to take note of that myself. I believe the school ranking system in relation to property values is more relevant in areas like N. Georgia, whereas Chattanooga has many other factors attributing to its growth. I wouldn't stray away from East Ridge, Brainerd or East Brainerd or areas similar to these, they are certainly growing and are strong rental markets. What I would do is focus on evaluating the deal in total based on the factors Josh mentioned as well as the rental return you'll net after all renovations and expenses. If you're unsure as to what properties in a specific neighborhood can rent for it may be in your best interest to find a great property manager to align yourself with who can run quotes on every property in question. Property values can vary significantly in Chattanooga so regardless of which neighborhood you're considering it will benefit you to hone in on that specific area in which the home is and do research on the activity and rental rates within maybe up to a mile radius of that home. If your main goal is rentals I would say two of your best resources would be an experienced and active local broker and property manager. Best of luck and looking forward to seeing what you do in Chattanooga! :)

Hi Yinglu,

I agree with Josh. Chattanooga has very few school districts that rank above 5. Most affluent families in Chatt send their children to private schools and magnet schools because the schools they are zoned for are not very good. 

Hi Yinglu - school data usually ranks further down on our list when evaluating Chattanooga deals. In order, we usually look at these factors first: 1) value/equity opportunity of the deal, 2) proximity of the unit to downtown, employer hubs, retail and colleges/tech centers, 3) rent ratios to other units nearby, 4) general population mix/makeup of the area and 5) current rental inventory on the market for the area. 

@Kurtis Montgomery @John Preston Neely @Yinglu Wang. I can vouch for Kurtis. My wife and I just got started in REI this year and Kurtis was kind enough to answer my newbie questions. Great guy with alot of wisdom!

I'm also happy to help out to share my limited experience.

We closed on our 1st property a few weeks ago. Duplex in Chatt. Both are occupied.

The chatt investor network is super strong and everyone loves to help each other so feel free to reach out.