Bay Area House Hacker Looking for OOS Investment Opportunities

Bay Area House Hacker Looking for OOS Investment Opportunities

Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 4 votes

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!

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Sally FairchildPro Member
Investor · Newport Beach, CA · Member since 2016 · 106 posts · 84 votes
6y

@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!

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  • Nick GiulioniPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Carmel, IN · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 615 votes
    6y

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

  • Realtor · Clarksville, TN · Member since 2017 · 89 posts · 42 votes
    6y

    @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

  • Sally FairchildPro Member
    Investor · Newport Beach, CA · Member since 2016 · 106 posts · 84 votes
    6y

    @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 FairchildPro Member
    Investor · Newport Beach, CA · Member since 2016 · 106 posts · 84 votes
    6y

    @Sally Fairchild

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

  • Real Estate Agent · Nashville, TN · Member since 2020 · 77 posts · 71 votes
    6y

    @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. 

  • Kerry Noble JrPro Member
    Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y

    definitely central Indiana

  • Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2020 · 9 posts · 6 votes
    6y

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

  • Rental Property Investor · Honolulu, HAWAII (HI) · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

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

  • Matt StricklenPro Member
    Investor · Austin TX · Member since 2020 · 224 posts · 152 votes
    6y

    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. 

  • Realtor · Flagstaff, AZ · Member since 2020 · 106 posts · 118 votes
    6y

    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. 

  • Real Estate Agent · Nashville, TN · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    @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 

  • Mike D'ArrigoPro Member
    Turn key provider · San Jose, CA · Member since 2010 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    @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?

  • Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    6y
    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.



  • Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 83 posts · 65 votes
    6y

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

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