Alpharetta, GA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 6 votes
A family member is taking a job in Huntsville this summer and I have been looking for homes. Huntsville seems like a pretty decent rental market so I am thinking that I buy a house and rent to them for 2 or so years that they will live there and then I am fairly certain they will not be there long term. My long term plan is to rent out the house after they leave. I saw a listing in 35824 zip code. looks like decent house. stats on listing showed 47% homes owned and 47% percent rented. I am new to real estate investing and I am not sure if this stat is a red flag or shows strong rental market. What are the opinions of this zip code or general area of Huntsville looking 5-10 years out. I have never been to Huntsville but will take a trip there early summer to see myself and would like to have a better idea of best areas to concentrate on. Any help or advice on Huntsville would be appreciated.
Rental Property Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2017 · 138 posts · 51 votes
7y
Hi there! Generally, you're looking for certain market indicators to determine if a market is a "good" market for you. This includes employment, population growth/decline and other indicators that you'll see on the census report. Huntsville is a good-sized city so there's lots of different submarkets there. For each of the submarkets you can look for crime rates, school ratings, amenities such as cafes, shops, and restaurants to determine if it's a good submarket.
What is your investing criteria? Also depending on the area, your customer/tenant demographic might be young adults and schools might not be as important as a solid coffee shop, or young families that *do* care about good school ratings, etc...
Alpharetta, GA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 6 votes
7y
thanks for the jump start to my refining what criteria I need to look at. The only ones I had considered so far was that I want to stay around 200K-250K, 3 bedrooms at least and less than 15 years old. Not looking to do any repairs beyond cosmetic (new floors, paint, etc) for this purchase since my timeline is fixed by outside considerations (new job start date). probably looking to market to families when going for rental in future. will take a look at crime and schools and see what that does to geographical narrowing. thanks for great ideas - as I said I am new at this but it seems like this is great way to ease into rental market since I know I can rent out house for at least first two years while I am getting more comfortable with rental/landlord thing
Huntsville, AL · Member since 2018 · 577 posts · 864 votes
7y
Agree with what @Peter McDonough said above. To expand, good luck getting 1% anywhere in Huntsville right now that is an A/B neighborhood with appreciation potential. More likely it is about 0.7%. Only C/D neighborhoods or those with minimal chance for appreciation (20 minutes+ outside of Huntsville/Madison) are getting 1%, and that's not a slam dunk either.
Real Estate Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2014 · 104 posts · 21 votes
7y
Hello Huntsville investors, do you think new construction homes in Harvest and Toney will meet the 1% rule? Also, what do you think about these areas as investments? Will the value hold, appreciate, or depreciate? Thanks for your comments!
Rental Property Investor · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2015 · 401 posts · 309 votes
7y
@Edwin L. I love harvest, haven't had one in Toney but know there is potential. Harvest is more likely to appreciate being the affordable alternative to living in Madison. I don't know much about new builds though, we always buy existing homes.
Investor · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2015 · 66 posts · 45 votes
7y
Hi Leslie! I personally live in the 35824 area (very close to Redstone Arsenal). Great mixture here of owners and rentals. It is growing quite a bit here and the infrastructure is racing to keep up with homes being built, etc. My particular subdivision has a few rentals--most are rented short term due to the military presence on the arsenal. Tenants are staying 2-3 years then getting stationed somewhere else.
Happy to answer any further questions for you or scope out something in the area.
Alpharetta, GA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 6 votes
7y
between the Arsenal and Cumming Research Park it seems like a good area for rentals. I am trying to get to Huntsville later summer to take a look at the area and narrow down my search criteria.
Professional · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2015 · 40 posts · 25 votes
7y
All of 35824 is fantastic for rentals really. It is so close to Gate 7 that the convenience alone and the relatively high income to Arsenal employees makes it a big win.
Investor · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2015 · 66 posts · 45 votes
7y
@Jason Grey, I actually live just outside Gate 7 and agree. Their even expanding the roadways out in this area to accommodate the increase in cars. The ballpark is also being built just down the road.
Alpharetta, GA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 6 votes
7y
Being close to Redstone seems like a good choice for area. Any local experience with living near airport? Is that considered a big concern for renters? Not sure how busy the Huntsville airport is.
@Jason Grey, I actually live just outside Gate 7 and agree. Their even expanding the roadways out in this area to accommodate the increase in cars. The ballpark is also being built just down the road.
I agree with what is being said above ie: easy convince to the Arsenal, expanding roads, new ball park. All of these things are pluses for a person like me who actually works on the Arsenal and im sure for a buy and hold tenet. These are actually key factors why we choose to live in that area. Also because there is a lot going on there I believe the property value will increase a lot in the upcoming months just because of the stadium.
Real Estate Broker · East TN Loudon/Lenoir City/Tellico Village · Member since 2014 · 363 posts · 222 votes
7y
@Leslie Capps
Hi Leslie
My family lives and works in Huntsville. It has always been an awesome town growing and expanding out via Madison. I own 2 single family homes in 35802 and 2 single family homes in 35758, Madison.
We lived in S Huntsville for about 10 years and really enjoyed all the shops and access to everything was close. I know alot of new developments are going in out toward Rideout road. And dont forget about the Hazel green area!.
Specialist · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2014 · 81 posts · 68 votes
7y
@Leslie Capps I'm pretty excited about what's happening in Huntsville right now, but I think we won't see the full impact of these changes until 5 years or so down the line – which for me is exactly when I want to be investing. The jobs growth, outside (foreign and domestic) investment, and ambitious new Big Picture plan (including some really cool live-work-play focused ideas) are all GREAT indicators. The Big Picture, specificially, really highlights that leadership in Huntsville has a long-term forward-focused view of what the city should aspire to be, and I just love that kind of proactive leadership.
Specialist · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2014 · 81 posts · 68 votes
7y
As an extra note, I think the 1% rule should be seen more as a guideline than a hard and fast rule – especially when you're looking at a place that's only just beginning its renaissance. Yes, the higher the rent to value ratio, the better, but some of my most reliable cash flow producing props have a ratio lower than 1%. The quality of a rental isn't 100% tied up in this one metric.
Alpharetta, GA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 6 votes
7y
Based on what I have been looking at Huntsville is excellent area. Was planning to go for weekend and I might have to stay for week to really get my plan finalized and see all areas I want to scope out.