Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 0 votes
I was browsing some properties and a few seemed like they had good potential to be fixed up, but they are in pretty terrible neighborhoods. I'd be curious to hear about anyone's experiences renting out in bad areas of Jax and if it was worth it.
@Eric Mott The Moncrief area has been in the news of late. Some sad drive-by shootings. Its an area that has many drug related issues. Sad, but many innocent people trying to get by and live their lives and caught in the middle of unnecessary violence. That link I posted is to a story where there were over 40 shell casings, between 2 guys who grew up as "brothers".
I would say 32254 would be better, but that area, the Lackawanna area, has been hit hard of late. This area has over 50 abandoned or condemned houses. There are great deals there, but you need to make sure you do your due diligence. So these guys offering "turnkey" options may be a good option, but know what you are getting into here in Jacksonville.
@Eric Mott The Moncrief area has been in the news of late. Some sad drive-by shootings. Its an area that has many drug related issues. Sad, but many innocent people trying to get by and live their lives and caught in the middle of unnecessary violence. That link I posted is to a story where there were over 40 shell casings, between 2 guys who grew up as "brothers".
I would say 32254 would be better, but that area, the Lackawanna area, has been hit hard of late. This area has over 50 abandoned or condemned houses. There are great deals there, but you need to make sure you do your due diligence. So these guys offering "turnkey" options may be a good option, but know what you are getting into here in Jacksonville.
For those who are still looking for more information on the Moncrief Road area, this is an article from 2015, but it is still very true today, it is still a dangerous area for people to live, and own property.
In the news last night a serviceman, working for a local contractor left his vehicle for "minutes" and returned to find it ransacked and his phone stolen. The family called the phone and was able to get a picture created of the "new owner" using a feature on Google. They contacted the "new owner", a local news station contacted the "new owner", and the "new owner" replied he would be willing to turn over the phone, if the family paid what "he paid", $250.00 for the phone.
For sure a war zone area, which I guess is why you can grab a house for so cheap. It seems like in most bad areas there are low income people that are good, hardworking and need a place to live. I was just curious if anyone was successful catering to that group. I’m not sure it’s for me, just wanted to see if anyone had any experiences with renting in really bad areas
@Eric Mott
No direct experience renting in such areas, but I’m aware of the many difficulties. Yes, there are those you reference who are quality people trying to simply find a home. Problem is differentiating between them and others.
Finding a “quality” tenant in those type areas can take months. Low income, poor credit, and questionable rental histories are far more common in these areas. Collecting rent can also be a monthly adventure.
Now, I will say that monthly profits in poor areas can be much higher, given the rents you can command in relation to the actual price of the property, but in general you’ll likely have to truly work for the income.
Hey @Eric Mott, I have a couple clients who have purchased properties in those areas. The results were varied. It's not a very stable investment there.
It is a high risk, high return area.
Are you looking to pick up similar properties here in Jacksonville?
I purchased 12 units just last month in this area and as of today I'm in the process of evicting a quarter of the building for non-payment of rent. Should be interesting to see how this investment pans out, certainly not off to a great start.