Hey their BP!

I just completed my first house hack on a duplex in Oakland! I purchased earlier this year, remodeled both units, and found tenants right at the start of Shelter-In-Place (yikes that was nerve wracking) for the downstairs unit. I couldn't follow the BRRRR model since prices are so high and my down was around 11%, but I was able to remodel and refi my way to removing my PMI on my loan! That's going to help me cashflow even more in the future when I do rent my unit.

Now that I've dipped my feet into the REI world, I want to get out of the Bay Area since prices are so high it takes years of savings and doing an owner occupied loan to invest in the Bay Area for me. Also, I had to patiently wait for this deal to pop up on the MLS, but I believe that OOS has more deals. I'm now learning different markets so that I can accurately gauge a "deal" and what that looks like. So far, I'm looking in Cleveland OH, Indianapolis IN, Clarksville TN, and San Antonio TX.

I'm exploring the turn key model, but I'm not a fan of parking my cash into the property since the remodel aspect has already been taken out of the equation. I'd like to find properties in need of light remodeling in B class areas so that I can at least pull out some of the cash in the investment in a refi. Any guidance on the markets stated above would be great! I'm also self managing my current property, but would need to get in touch with property managers OOS, as well as a good general contractor! I'd gladly buy a virtual coffee to chat with others investing similarly!

I do this in Indy all the time. Feel free to hit me up if I can help!

@Steve Wang I am an investor and real estate agent in the Clarksville, TN market. Happy to offer some resources and options here. We are in a super hot market right now, so there are not many options to get your money back out, but we still have some great turn key options that get close to 1% return. There are a few rehabs that come along. Feel free to shoot me a message and we can connect for a chat. 

Rylan

@Steve Wang

I love Clarksville,TN and have some rentals there, but great deals are elusive. I’m now looking in the Huntsville, AL area. It’s just south of Nashville by about 90 mins. It appears to have the deals that Clarksville use to have.

Advice- Find a good PM. There are a lot of bad ones out there. I have found that PMs can start off good and then go to sleep at the wheel.

I use PMs because I am a sucker for a sad tenant story, but I have no problem firing a PM that isn’t or has stopped looking out for my best interests. Good luck!

@Sally Fairchild

P.S. I’m in CA and was born in Oakland. Live in So Cal now.

@Sally Fairchild do you have a good PM reference in Clarksville? Some of the investors I work with have been looking for PMs in the area. 

definitely central Indiana

You should check out the Huntsville, Alabama market!  It's a pretty sweet place to be right now!

Yea man turnkey is the way to go for working professionals living in primary markets.

My son is an electrician and does work for a property manager in Clarksville. I don't have direct experience but can share the contact info via message for anyone who would like. 

San Antonio is a great market for this. Like most major metro cities it has a wide variety of opportunity but a shortage of affordable housing, much lower costs of entry and lower avg DOMs across the bed counts relative to other major cities. 

Although it's extremely competitive here there's still a lot of great opportunity if you can manage a team from where you are. Networking is key and getting to review a lot of deals to learn the city better helps a ton. I'd be glad to share my experience. 

@Steve Wang Let me know if you have any questions about Nashville, I can help answer them. 

I don't invest in Clarksville, but I might be able to point you in the right direction if you decide on that market 

@Steve Wang the 4 markets that you mention are so vastly different that I have to ask what your criteria is. How did you come to identify those very different markets?

Originally posted by @Steve Wang :

Hey their BP!

I just completed my first house hack on a duplex in Oakland! I purchased earlier this year, remodeled both units, and found tenants right at the start of Shelter-In-Place (yikes that was nerve wracking) for the downstairs unit. I couldn't follow the BRRRR model since prices are so high and my down was around 11%, but I was able to remodel and refi my way to removing my PMI on my loan! That's going to help me cashflow even more in the future when I do rent my unit.

Now that I've dipped my feet into the REI world, I want to get out of the Bay Area since prices are so high it takes years of savings and doing an owner occupied loan to invest in the Bay Area for me. Also, I had to patiently wait for this deal to pop up on the MLS, but I believe that OOS has more deals. I'm now learning different markets so that I can accurately gauge a "deal" and what that looks like. So far, I'm looking in Cleveland OH, Indianapolis IN, Clarksville TN, and San Antonio TX.

I'm exploring the turn key model, but I'm not a fan of parking my cash into the property since the remodel aspect has already been taken out of the equation. I'd like to find properties in need of light remodeling in B class areas so that I can at least pull out some of the cash in the investment in a refi. Any guidance on the markets stated above would be great! I'm also self managing my current property, but would need to get in touch with property managers OOS, as well as a good general contractor! I'd gladly buy a virtual coffee to chat with others investing similarly!

 Welcome aboard Steve. Of the markets you've listed Cleveland is the one I am most familiar with. You'll want to take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods for some more insight into that market.

@Steve Wang good luck buddy. Across the Bay and in the same boat!