Atlanta Georgia Buy and Hold Advice!

Sykesville, MD · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 1 vote

Hey BP,

My name is Tyler Evans, I am a newbie Investor looking to invest out of state rentals. Atlanta Georgia seems to be a growing and diverse market that i'm really interested in. I am looking for Buy and Hold rentals in blue collar neighborhoods. Anyone that has any advice or guidance I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

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Joel OwensBusiness Member

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Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes

Stay away from the craphole areas in GA. Investors get sucked in to promises of higher per month cash flow and lower house price points. As soon as a downturn happens the tenants have no money to pay the rent and crime upticks. Those areas implode and values fall fast.

Stick to higher quality areas. Going in rent ratio is not as great but appreciation and rent growth tends to be much stronger over time and quality of tenants tend to be better with less turnover. I only do commercial real estate but have lived in GA all of my life.

Good Luck

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Michael Ehmann
Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 126 posts · 110 votes
7y
@Tyler Evans why Atlanta? Why not invest more locally? Why blue collar and what do you mean by that?
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Tyler Evans
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Sykesville, MD · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 1 vote
7y
@Michael Ehmann, Thanks for the message back! I am very early in my search for markets. With a little research I know that Atlanta is a growing city, and has a diverse range of jobs. My current home market has an average home price of around 400k while Atlanta is closer to 200k. Now I could absolutely find something closer but I don't intend on being the one swinging the hammer, so I really want to develop skills so I can invest in markets that makes sense. I don't know that the best market for me is Atlanta but I want to take a look. By blue collar I mean jobs like teachers, nurses, factory workers. Occupations that are not going out of business due to a market cycle. I just think its a safer population to try and serve. Message me if you want to talk more. I would love to hear your ideas!
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Joel OwensBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
7y
Stay away from the craphole areas in GA. Investors get sucked in to promises of higher per month cash flow and lower house price points. As soon as a downturn happens the tenants have no money to pay the rent and crime upticks. Those areas implode and values fall fast.
Stick to higher quality areas. Going in rent ratio is not as great but appreciation and rent growth tends to be much stronger over time and quality of tenants tend to be better with less turnover. I only do commercial real estate but have lived in GA all of my life.
Good Luck
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Michael Ehmann
Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 126 posts · 110 votes
7y
@Tyler Evans sounds solid. I’m glad to hear you’re not blindly sold on Atlanta. It’s a great city, and I’m very bullish on it, which is why I’m investing here for the time being. However, Atlanta is pretty hot right now, so finding a deal is harder than it used to be. Lots of people overpaying.
I think you’re spot on: investing out of state can force you to systematize, which is great.
If you do decide to hone in on Atlanta, you have to know the idiosyncrasies of the city - lots of variation within a small area. Could be worth flying down for a weekend to explore in person.
If you’re looking out of state anyway, I’ve also heard good things about the Midwest - not as much growth and change but supposedly more cash-flowing opportunities. If I ever look out of state, this is what I’ll probably do.
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Michael Ehmann
Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 126 posts · 110 votes
7y
Meant to add: if you do decide on Atlanta, I’m happy to provide some points of contact. I have a few wholesalers who I know are legitimate and a property manager who I highly recommend (none of them are giving me a kickback or anything - I just like to help if I can). PM me if you want to chat more or if there’s more I can do to help.
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Michael Barnhart
Rental Property Investor · Cambridge, UK · Member since 2020 · 203 posts · 95 votes
6y
@Michael Ehmann great points all around, I would love to connect to chat more about the Atlanta area if you're still active there?
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Charles Situ
Rental Property Investor · Wayland, MA · Member since 2020 · 55 posts · 18 votes
6y
@Tyler Evans I have been investing out of state in the area, mostly south of Atlanta in Clayton and Henry counties, for about 2 years. I got into the area for some of the same reasons you mentioned (diverse set of sectors, some population growth, and lower price points & better cap rate than my home market).

@Joel Owens I am curious to know what are these craphole areas, so I could avoid them. I work with 2 PMs that are also agents. One of them that was representing me wasn't as selective in picking the areas. Through him, I did buy some places in Jonesboro and the southern part of Decatur (isn't as good as north Decatur) that I later realized that are tougher areas. I am now using the other PM as an agent who is much more informative about what is good or not. I am learning, the area can be very spotty, especially when you get closer to the city.

@Michael Ehmann I love to get some contact for wholesalers if you don't mind. I have a great property manager. But one area I am lacking is sourcing deals.
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Jingru Sui
Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 683 posts · 317 votes
6y
Originally posted by @Tyler Evans:
Hey BP,
My name is Tyler Evans, I am a newbie Investor looking to invest out of state rentals. Atlanta Georgia seems to be a growing and diverse market that i'm really interested in. I am looking for Buy and Hold rentals in blue collar neighborhoods. Anyone that has any advice or guidance I would really appreciate it! Thanks!
I want to suggest you check out Powder Springs, Douglasville, Hiram, Dallas, (West of Atlanta) I found these area have property you might like. Low maintenance ,turn key, affordable property. Price around 170-180 range. Last year i bought one at 160K and rented at 1350. My net cash flow is around 500/month.
Once level up will be Kennesaw, Woodstock (North west of Atlanta). turn key low maintenance property might be around the 230K range. Other side of town have some good ones too. Lawrenceville might have some around the 200K range.
These are all suburban area. ITP has some options too.
Feel free to reach out to me. I'd love to connect and see if i can help you in any ways.

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