Brookhaven or East Atlanta ?

Question

I went to visit the two neighborhoods.

Brookhaven is traditionally good district with good schools and the area is really nice.

East Atlanta seems really upcoming and price is lower than Brookhaven. East Atlanta Village is also a good spot.

Brookhaven has more renter options. East Atlanta maybe a bit limited.

which one should I pick?

Duane Alexander · Answer

what are your goals? You trying to flip or build a rental portfolio? Both are good for appreciation but it will be hard to cash flow. Both are expensive for the atl market.  I would definitely flip a house in either location if I could get it at a discount, but I probably wouldn't try to buy a rental in either. The prices are too high compared to the rent you can get.

Brenden Mitchum · Answer

Hey @Yuanyuan Ma, welcome to the BP community!

As @Duane Alexander mentioned, it's the rent that is the issue in these neighborhoods. Prices are steep compared to the rest of Atlanta, but not compared to many other markets in the U.S.

So, these properties you're seeing on Zillow may look affordable but the rents are likely too low to cover your expenses. The exception would be if you purchased cash but then you'll still have an incredibly low CoC return.

This may not be an issue if your focus is on long-term appreciation, rather than cash flow. However, if you plan to cash flow while holding, don't waste your time looking in these neighborhoods right now.

The areas I'd recommend building a rental portfolio are areas that are conducive to the niche myself and my investors specialize in so I'm not sure my recommendations would be very helpful if you're married to the typical long-term rental model. But, feel free to shoot me a message anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat about the Atlanta market!

Yuanyuan Ma · Answer

Thanks for replying. I am trying to build a rental portfolio.

The price for these two areas are actually better than other areas. But I might be wrong.

what areas do you recommend for portfolio building?