My trip to Birmingham! Not to shabby!
So me and the wife just completed our trip to Birmingham and thought we would share our experience and thoughts.
Birmingham is a small city but you would never guess from the way it is spread out. The terrain is beautiful with lots of tree lined streets and hills throughout.
Seems like lots of action going on downtown. A new ball park was built recently with lots of revitalization going on around it. From store fronts to hotels and condos it seems like something is being rehabbed on every block. A new area of restaurants in what's called Uptown was very impressive as well. The BBq in Bham is no joke. From Saws, to Jim and Nicks, Mug Shots and some oyster house in the NW side all were amazing. The huge medical center was unreal. They have pretty much an entire building for every specialty and a beautiful campus that is obviously one of the major industries in this market.
The C class neighborhoods really aren't all that bad in my opinion. Some streets were cleaner than others but all in all "not to shabby." Like everyone says you can see the little pockets in there that really pop. Depending on the rehab job and who you got managing your home it might work. I could see some cool little streets that seem to be making a comeback. The rehabbers in these areas are truly doing a good deed for their community and I'm excited to see what happens in these areas in the future.
There seems to be one hot spot for the B class properties and that is clearly Center Pointe. But even Center Pointe can be a little street by street to some extent. Generally speaking though they are all great looking homes with awsome curb appeal and large private backyards. It's very quiet and peaceful throughout. Lots of trees and hills that gives it a sort of upper class feel to it. You can see a rehab going on on every street, or streets that have been completely rehabbed in its entirety. Definitely lots of action in Center Pointe.
In my opinion it seems like Birmingham as a whole is moving in the right direction. All the construction and revitalization that's clearly seen first hand has got to mean something. Seems like the hedge funds have established a presence, decreasing supply and increasing demand which hopefully would give Bham and chance for appreciation and increase in rents. But even if this doesn't happen the homes are still cheap enough to make some great cash flow and that makes me happy. Thank you Birmingham for the great experience. Now hopefully you can make all the rehabbers, realtors, managers, and of course investors some money. Time will tell...but I'm in!