Hi guys, I have 2 rentals in Macon, GA. 5 total in Middle GA. My husband and I lived in Macon for over 10 years. It's not as good as it once was about 7-8 years ago and you have to be super careful about the area you buy in. Just about every good area has a bad area not too far away. That's just the reality of an area where the median household income is below the poverty line. That being said, we do have Mercer University, the Medical Center aka Navicent Health, and GEICO which is middle GA's largest employer. It's harder to find deals now because most auction deals require your purchase to be all cash. Most lenders in GA will not lend on less than 50K so you're looking at a sweet spot on 60-70K if you can find the deal unless you have cash. Is there something in particular you're wanting to know? I'm happy to share my knowledge if it will help.
Hi guys, I have 2 rentals in Macon, GA. 5 total in Middle GA. My husband and I lived in Macon for over 10 years. It's not as good as it once was about 7-8 years ago and you have to be super careful about the area you buy in. Just about every good area has a bad area not too far away. That's just the reality of an area where the median household income is below the poverty line. That being said, we do have Mercer University, the Medical Center aka Navicent Health, and GEICO which is middle GA's largest employer. It's harder to find deals now because most auction deals require your purchase to be all cash. Most lenders in GA will not lend on less than 50K so you're looking at a sweet spot on 60-70K if you can find the deal unless you have cash. Is there something in particular you're wanting to know? I'm happy to share my knowledge if it will help.
@Lee Taylor Good to know! Hey, by the way, I have seen you on the Middle GA Real Estate Investors Group on FB. I keep wanting to get down there to attend a meeting in WR, but we are up in Forsyth and w/ 3 young kids it just has not happened yet. Interesting to hear you have had luck w/ local lenders. Robins Federal Credit Union or any others in particular?
@Shannon Smith definitely not Robins 😂 Getting a loan from them is more of a pain than any other lender I’ve dealt with. American Pride, SunMark, Morris, Planters First, etc.
@C-Dell J. I live just north of Macon in Forsyth and only have 5 properties so I self-manage mine, but if I were going to hire a property management company in Macon, my first call would be to Real Property Management Vesta. They're located in Downtown Macon, charge a fair % rate, and are honest, good guys. Full disclosure, the owners, Ben & Jake are good buddies of mine, but I have a lot of respect for them and think they are great at what they do.
@Shannon Smith thanks for offering to share your knowledge. My husband and I are newbies and wanting to do our first deal in Macon. I’m what areas would you recommend investing? Is anything near Mercer University good? HELP!
@Onteria West Somehow I missed your comment- sorry about that! Did you end up investing in Macon? The Mercer area is not great in my opinion. Thankfully, the Mayor, Lester Miller, is focused on cleaning up a lot of the blight so at least improvements are being made. Macon is a tricky area in that there are a lot of not great areas, but there are of course pockets of it that allow for opportunity. I would aim for the North Macon and surrounding area- Bass Rd, Wesleyan Woods area, Zebulon Rd area, Forsyth Rd, etc.
@Shannon Smith I'm an experienced Atlanta based housing provider. I'm closing on my first Macon rental next week. Can you recommend a good property manager? Do you have any more insight on the tax auction process? I'm thinking that's the best way to grow my portfolio in Macon. I'd really appreciate the opportunity to speak to you about your experience, sending you a DM now.
Success stories? Heard from an investor from Lake Tahoe, Nevada that it has been good for holds.
I dont like Macon as an investment and here is why. The people of Macon dislike Macon as a place to live, and therefore are moving away. The economy has been stagnant, the crime is high, and the population is declining. There was a population jump a few years ago from 90-150k within a year, but my assumption is that was an annexation of another census designated area, not actual growth.
This isn't a dig against the city of Macon, just an investment point of view. All of my data is pulled from Citydata.com, census.gov, and public information crime index. There are plenty of areas not far from Macon that I am extremely bullish on, and invest myself. I personally foresee continued growth in the Atlanta metro, and south east GA(Savannah) areas.