Investing in Augusta, Georgia
Athens, GA · Member since 2018 · 11 posts · 5 votes
Hi there,
So I am still looking for my first deal in Georgia. I would like to purchase a rental property. I have only a 25K HELOC so my options are pretty limited. I keep seeing alot of cheap and decent looking homes in Augusta, Ga., but I know nothing about the area, I live in Athens. Can anyone from the Augusta area tell me why there are so many cheap homes on the market. Would love to hear from anyone that is successfully investing in Augusta, Ga.
Thanks!
Augusta is great but good rentals are hard to come by. I own in West Augusta close to the National and they rent really well to medical students and military. I do not force moving out for the masters but I do offer to the tenant a free vacation in order to use the property (and their personal property like TV, beds, dishes, etc) but haven't done it yet. Masters can be lucrative but for smaller rentals its not really worth it and the completion is significant. The cheaper homes will cash flow well but will require heavy management and tenant issues. I know some who have been successful with Section 8 in south Augusta but tenants are still an issue sometimes. Since you are in Athens I would recommend house hacking a duplex/tri/quad in that area. If you need a realtor over there let me know ( I used to live near by)
Hi @Brian Windle !
I just got back from a four month stint in Augusta (Ft. Gordon). I too was curious about the cheap RE around and was considering buying a rental while I was down there. I decided not to since I ultimately didn't know the market well enough. Towards the end of my time there, I did start to become more familiar with the area however.
With what I know now, I would consider buying a rental in either Evens or some parts of north Augusta/Grovetown.
And, of course, there is the Augusta National Golf Club (where the Master's is held), which has many nice homes in the area.
All the best,
-Andrew
Hi @Brian Windle ! I too am new to the area and have been looking in the Grovetown and Evans areas. Most of the "cheap" houses are outside of these areas. I am seeing quite a few in South Augusta that would cash flow, but I worry about tenants in that area, and the fact that many houses are older (70's) and could have plumbing issues and older appliances.
To piggy back on the topic a little bit, are there any members that have put in the lease an addendum to move out for the Masters Tournament so that the house ca be rented for the week? I have heard stories of people doing this, but would love to see a lease example or talk to someone who has done it or knows someone personally who has.
Good luck Brian!
Augusta is great but good rentals are hard to come by. I own in West Augusta close to the National and they rent really well to medical students and military. I do not force moving out for the masters but I do offer to the tenant a free vacation in order to use the property (and their personal property like TV, beds, dishes, etc) but haven't done it yet. Masters can be lucrative but for smaller rentals its not really worth it and the completion is significant. The cheaper homes will cash flow well but will require heavy management and tenant issues. I know some who have been successful with Section 8 in south Augusta but tenants are still an issue sometimes. Since you are in Athens I would recommend house hacking a duplex/tri/quad in that area. If you need a realtor over there let me know ( I used to live near by)
@Brian Windle There are a few duplexes in Athens that you could get in, even at turnkey prices. I was just talking to a mortgage lender who also recommended to look in Agusta, my personal fear of investing in an area that is 2 hours away is that I don't have the people that I can trust to operate my daily business.
@Bobby Norris , you can do an addendum to a lease to have tenants move out, but I would only do that if you have rentals near the National. Otherwise, you may not rent it anyways. A couple of years ago I worked for a management company and we had that to the lease for condos around the area of the Masters and maybe some on Washington Rd area. Condos in the Grovetown area are hot. They rent very easily and easy to maintain. There are several investors with 50-70 of them. I have one right now if anyone is interested!!
Lisa Miller, I’m waiting to close on a house behind Augusta Hospital Summerville. It’s off of Wrightsboro Rd. Do you think a lease addendum for Master’s week would be worth it?
How did everyone’s purchases go? Did you all buy?
Did you ever end up getting a Rental in Augusta ? I have been looking in the area for my first property. I live in AZ so this would be a long distance investment. I am lucky that my brother is stationed at FT Gordon so will be able to go to look at properties and give honest trust worthy information regarding the surrounding area. Any information on if you moved forward?
Did you ever end up getting a Rental in Augusta ? I have been looking in the area for my first property. I live in AZ so this would be a long distance investment. I am lucky that my brother is stationed at FT Gordon so will be able to go to look at properties and give honest trust worthy information regarding the surrounding area. Any information on if you moved forward?
Did you ever end up getting a Rental in Augusta ? I have been looking in the area for my first property. I live in AZ so this would be a long distance investment. I am lucky that my brother is stationed at FT Gordon so will be able to go to look at properties and give honest trust worthy information regarding the surrounding area. Any information on if you moved forward?
I am open to both
Did you ever end up getting a Rental in Augusta ? I have been looking in the area for my first property. I live in AZ so this would be a long distance investment. I am lucky that my brother is stationed at FT Gordon so will be able to go to look at properties and give honest trust worthy information regarding the surrounding area. Any information on if you moved forward?
Hey Janiece,
I know I'm not Richard, but for MTR, lots of medical folks and military folks. Augusta has an area referred to as the medical district and we're super close to Ft. Gordon. So, plenty of reasons for people to want to stay for multiple weeks/months. :)
Did you ever end up getting a Rental in Augusta ? I have been looking in the area for my first property. I live in AZ so this would be a long distance investment. I am lucky that my brother is stationed at FT Gordon so will be able to go to look at properties and give honest trust worthy information regarding the surrounding area. Any information on if you moved forward?
Did you ever end up getting a Rental in Augusta ? I have been looking in the area for my first property. I live in AZ so this would be a long distance investment. I am lucky that my brother is stationed at FT Gordon so will be able to go to look at properties and give honest trust worthy information regarding the surrounding area. Any information on if you moved forward?
Great insight, thank you. Lastly, Any input on the sweet spot for home sizes? We were actually looking at a larger 4 bedroom home, not sure if smaller is better.
Hey Janiece,
I know I'm not Richard, but for MTR, lots of medical folks and military folks. Augusta has an area referred to as the medical district and we're super close to Ft. Gordon. So, plenty of reasons for people to want to stay for multiple weeks/months. :)
Hey Janiece,
I know I'm not Richard, but for MTR, lots of medical folks and military folks. Augusta has an area referred to as the medical district and we're super close to Ft. Gordon. So, plenty of reasons for people to want to stay for multiple weeks/months. :)
There was a panel of STR and MTR folks a couple months ago at the local REIA, and they preferred the smaller units. I feel pretty confident (that I'm remembering correctly) that they liked 2 bedroom homes. It ended up with fewer people in the property, less damage, etc. If you're going for MTR, a 4 bedroom could be great for a military family that's there, but likely less awesome for single nurses that are going to value their sleep and not want roommates (or at least not a bunch of roommates). Have you looked through the area on AirBnB/VRBO and looked at places with more than a month stay? (Sometimes the places are advertised here instead of/in addition to furnishedfinder.com) Of course, I also recommend looking at furnished finder. :)
I will mention that there are several STRs that are on the market being sold now and some agents are mentioning that the market is saturated. (Part of the reason I'm focusing on MTR as I still think that's a pretty good market from what I'm hearing.) While I think that MTR is a good way to go, I do suggest that you make sure the numbers work as an LTR just in case you need to pivot though. :)
Did you ever end up getting a Rental in Augusta ? I have been looking in the area for my first property. I live in AZ so this would be a long distance investment. I am lucky that my brother is stationed at FT Gordon so will be able to go to look at properties and give honest trust worthy information regarding the surrounding area. Any information on if you moved forward?
Great insight, thank you. Lastly, Any input on the sweet spot for home sizes? We were actually looking at a larger 4 bedroom home, not sure if smaller is better.
MTR can work well with larger homes and STR smaller homes. I'm actually considering doing a MTR on one of my units. I'll have to let you know how that goes!
Thank you so much! Great insight! That's pretty much what we're debating. MTR vs STR because it seems like each demographic demands a different sized home. (Until we can expand to diversify our portfolio atleast). Great point on LTR ability if we have to pivot.
Did you ever end up getting a Rental in Augusta ? I have been looking in the area for my first property. I live in AZ so this would be a long distance investment. I am lucky that my brother is stationed at FT Gordon so will be able to go to look at properties and give honest trust worthy information regarding the surrounding area. Any information on if you moved forward?
Great insight, thank you. Lastly, Any input on the sweet spot for home sizes? We were actually looking at a larger 4 bedroom home, not sure if smaller is better.
MTR can work well with larger homes and STR smaller homes. I'm actually considering doing a MTR on one of my units. I'll have to let you know how that goes!
Hi there,
So I am still looking for my first deal in Georgia. I would like to purchase a rental property. I have only a 25K HELOC so my options are pretty limited. I keep seeing alot of cheap and decent looking homes in Augusta, Ga., but I know nothing about the area, I live in Athens. Can anyone from the Augusta area tell me why there are so many cheap homes on the market. Would love to hear from anyone that is successfully investing in Augusta, Ga.
Thanks!
I was there once and could not believe how run down it was, I would not touch it, even for 25k,
All the best
Hello, for anyone doing STR/MTR what platform seems to work best? I currently use Airbnb but was curious about VRBO, FirnishedFinder, etc.