New to Jacksonville investing, looking for SFH's

[Jonathan C.]

Hi folks

I'm an investor up in the Washington DC area, where the returns on a holding strategy are small to nonexistent...I own three condos in addition to my house, and was looking at my long term plan the other day (which I drew up in 2013) and realized it is going to be an impossibility in the northern virginia market because returns are so slim.

For example, my last deal was a 1br condo -- got it at $160k after hard negotiations, put $5k into it, and it currently rents for $1400, but there's also a $350/month condo fee. I'm netting about a hundred a month cash on a property where I had to put about $50k upfront on dp, fees and repairs. Appreciation is OK, and vacancy is almost nonexistent, but this minimal cashflow will keep me from being able to expand my portfolio. I'll note that my other properties, which i bought earlier in the cycle, are doing better, netting $300 and $230/month respectively, but I can't get any properties like that any more.

In any case, I had long been reticent about purchasing in a far off market, but I think i'm over that now (after listening to a bunch of BP and jason hartman podcasts) and I like the long term look of the jacksonville market (I also have friends down there).

Bottom line, I'm looking for stable, low vacancy SFH's in the $100-120k range, in up and coming areas, which rent for about 1%/month, and I plan on using a management company. This appears within reach in the Murray Hill area. It seems very similar to the south arlington area in northern Virginia -- where young folks who can't afford rents in north arlington (analog: riverside) go to live. Planning to spend some time in Jacksonville over christmas to explore.

My questions for the forum: Is what I'm looking for possible in Jacksonville? Is Murray Hill the right area? Are there other areas I should look into when I'm down there? I'm also happy to consider multifamily.

Thanks for guidance! Really appreciate the BP community.

Jonathan

[Sarah Shockley]

@Jonathan C.

The majority of housing stock in Murray Hill is around 70-90 years old, so most of the time you'll be paying top dollar for someone else's flip if you want turnkey; generally those don't make profitable rentals.

Anything under $70k will definitely go cash; an unrenovated 3/2 around $100k-$120k will also likely go for cash, since renovated 3/2s are selling around $200k lately. 

In general, the better the deal, the more likely it will be a cash sale.