Wholesaler · Albany, OR · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 12 votes
Hey everyone!
I'm seeking for a bit of help here. I'm looking into buying my first out of state rental property, likely in Indianapolis. My market research seems to show that the west side seems a bit nice than the east side of the city. I'm strictly going off of home prices and crime statistics. Could someone more familiar with the area let me know what areas to focus on and which ones to avoid?
Real Estate Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2013 · 474 posts · 214 votes
9y
Interesting discussion. I'm a newbie investor when it comes to Indy and have only visited once since beginning to invest there....but I have been going full in on the Near Eastside (Emerson Heights and Fountain Square...very different by the way) It seems there are a lot of good areas to invest in, which is what I would expect in a market that is growing as fast as Indy's is. Just on the Near Eastside I explored about a dozen different neighborhoods...some really rough and some pretty well gentrified. It really is block-to-block as they say (which incidentally seems to be the case in most cities I've invested in) Also on the near eastside I like Irvington, Arsenal Heights, Woodruff Place, Windsor Park, portions of St Clair Place and Little Flower. I also like Englewood long term, although it's super rough right now.
And that's just the one quadrant, inside the loop. North of downtown offers a ton of cool neighborhoods much further along in gentrification it seems, so from a rental standpoint there are only a few areas that would produce cash-flow without being too sketchy. I think close to Butler was one such area. My favorite neighborhood was Herron-Morton but those prices are well over any good rental yield.
I did not get to check out too much else on my visit to Indy but you get the idea. And when you go outside the loop there's a whole lot more...some great deals in every direction though I've seen many in particular in Greenwood, Lawrence and Fishers. I'll give one last shout out to Bates-Hendricks. Directly south of downtown and I bet it transforms the most out of any hood over the next 5 years. Unfortunately can't seem to find anything for the right price on a good block down there.
Ok, those are just my opinions. Next trip I'll try to see more of the Westside and suburbs outside the loop.
Rental Property Investor · Avon, IN · Member since 2015 · 22 posts · 7 votes
9y
Yes the west side is nicer than the east side. If you are outside the loop- the prices will jump. Are you looking inside the loop? - 465 is the road that makes a complete circle around downtown, also called the loop. If you throw out some areas, I can tell you more about them. I live on the west side- Avon.
Wholesaler · Albany, OR · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 12 votes
9y
@Tim Dunlop Thanks for the response! Yes, I noticed that there was a value jump outside of "the loop". I was likely going to stay inside of "the loop", hopefully on the west side of the city. I don't have any specific neighborhoods picked out yet, I wanted to narrow it down to which side of the city first. Is there areas on the west side inside of "the loop" to avoid?
Rental Property Investor · Avon, IN · Member since 2015 · 22 posts · 7 votes
9y
Nate Hammond Speedway area is a decent area in my opinion BUT it has drawbacks if you don't like traffic/crowds (Indy 500 and races in general at IMS) But also has its own police force which is good and has basically everything in the town. Lots of opportunities with renters due to high amount of race companies moving into the area. When I get back to a computer or anything but just my phone I can try to help you out. I am more than willing to answer any questions or drive by the houses. It's really not out of my way once I get back next week.
Rental Property Investor · Avon, IN · Member since 2015 · 22 posts · 7 votes
9y
Kee You - this is actually a tricky question I have tossed back and forth how to answer. Honestly I'm still undecided to some extent. If you aren't opposed to college kids- you have iupui, U of I and Butler. Of the three, Butler has the best class of kids but also is very tricky- I mean one road too Far East and you are in a bad place. Let me think about this one a little more but if you can find the right deal Greenwood is heavily populated and also popular, in my opinion. Again, let me get to something off my phone and think some more about this.
Rental Property Investor · Avon, IN · Member since 2015 · 22 posts · 7 votes
9y
Nate Hammond As I'm thinking more about this there are some areas that are better than others in speedway. Just let me know where you are thinking and I ca know give you a better feel for it.
Real Estate Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2013 · 474 posts · 214 votes
9y
Interesting discussion. I'm a newbie investor when it comes to Indy and have only visited once since beginning to invest there....but I have been going full in on the Near Eastside (Emerson Heights and Fountain Square...very different by the way) It seems there are a lot of good areas to invest in, which is what I would expect in a market that is growing as fast as Indy's is. Just on the Near Eastside I explored about a dozen different neighborhoods...some really rough and some pretty well gentrified. It really is block-to-block as they say (which incidentally seems to be the case in most cities I've invested in) Also on the near eastside I like Irvington, Arsenal Heights, Woodruff Place, Windsor Park, portions of St Clair Place and Little Flower. I also like Englewood long term, although it's super rough right now.
And that's just the one quadrant, inside the loop. North of downtown offers a ton of cool neighborhoods much further along in gentrification it seems, so from a rental standpoint there are only a few areas that would produce cash-flow without being too sketchy. I think close to Butler was one such area. My favorite neighborhood was Herron-Morton but those prices are well over any good rental yield.
I did not get to check out too much else on my visit to Indy but you get the idea. And when you go outside the loop there's a whole lot more...some great deals in every direction though I've seen many in particular in Greenwood, Lawrence and Fishers. I'll give one last shout out to Bates-Hendricks. Directly south of downtown and I bet it transforms the most out of any hood over the next 5 years. Unfortunately can't seem to find anything for the right price on a good block down there.
Ok, those are just my opinions. Next trip I'll try to see more of the Westside and suburbs outside the loop.
Rental Property Investor · Avon, IN · Member since 2015 · 22 posts · 7 votes
9y
Maxwell Lee Fountain Square is on fire for flippers currently. I have numerous friends throw money into the area. If you can play in that league- definitely do! Let me know if you have questions or need anything- I am more than willing to help out.
Real Estate Agent · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2015 · 87 posts · 56 votes
9y
Personally, if we're talking about rental properties, I'd focus on Pike, Washington, and Lawrence townships. Those are the areas I find the best bang for your buck (higher rents, lower purchase prices). Deals can be found in Perry township and Greenwood as well, but I find the rents are usually lower there than in the townships mentioned above. There are some good pockets downtown as well as mentioned. I'd also throw in Mapleton-Fall Creek area to the list already given, as well. Ultimately, it depends on what kind of property you're looking for as well. If you're looking at multifamily, you're almost exclusively going to be downtown. We're primarily as single family market, so if that's what you're going to invest in, you'll probably be able to find a good rental property no matter what side of the city you look in.
Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2016 · 26 posts · 10 votes
9y
Most of my personal rentals are in the Haughville neighborhood just west of downtown but I manage properties for other people all over the city, mainly north and west....I'd be happy to give advice/input on areas/addresses for you as well.
Here's to a prosperous 2017! 👍🏻
Barb Getty
Rental Property Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2015 · 61 posts · 37 votes
9y
Hey Nate Hammond I would listen to Maxwell Lee 's breakdown of specific neighborhoods. All those places are hot, especially for flippers. Little Flower has opportunity for lower purchase prices and great CCRs. Also, Erin Donlan brought up a great point about townships. We typically see a bump of ~25/mo in rent for properties we pick up in township school districts. Two other areas worth looking into are Wayne and Lawrence townships.
I recommend using Trulia to map the city since it will show you crime rates, school levels, etc using a color grid.
Best of luck!
Rental Property Investor · Mableton, GA · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 0 votes
9y
We have a townhouse in the Cottage Home area, on the east side of Indy, that we are currently selling (due to us being out of state). The rental market there has been good for us and our neighbors, with IUPUI and the medical school an easy commute.
Investor · Trafalgar, IN · Member since 2016 · 95 posts · 58 votes
9y
I have 16 units, all in the Greenwood area. I'm not sure where any of you are finding "deals" in that area, but I've had very good luck there with tenants in the properties I have. Deals used to be there, but right now, at least in my opinion, there isn't much to be found. Prices are way too high to make the numbers work. I'm actually building brand new on lots I purchased several years ago because the existing prices are so high!
Investor/RE Broker · Eugene, OR · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 968 votes
9y
@Account Closed Hi and I just south of you in Eugene. I would highly recommend you plan a trip to Indy to take a look at those areas yourself and meet some of the on the ground folks there. I am doing a good bit of investing in Indy, and will be making another trip there in the next month or two.
Thanks for commenting on the post! My wife and I were actually just talking about taking a trip out there to check it all out ourselves. Which areas of Indy do you primarily invest in?
Also, I partner with a couple of investors out of Eugene. Do you do any work up in my area?
Specialist · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2016 · 841 posts · 480 votes
9y
I know the perfect person for you to talk to, he has properties on the West side inside the loop. There are great deals on the East side as sell. Indianapolis is one of those cities where it goes street by street in some areas.
PM me and I'll give you a list of awesome wholesalers who work with out of state investors alot. They are always very good at providing great info like you're looking for.
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2016 · 341 posts · 643 votes
9y
Hi @Account Closed - I just started investing in Indianapolis from California. My property just completed rehab and I'm in the process of marketing to tenants. Feel free to check out my detailed and long/ongoing post here:
Residential Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2009 · 477 posts · 304 votes
9y
@Account Closed
I hate recommending neighborhoods in Indianapolis.. Indianapolis is very much street by street. I have rentals I own and manage all over Indianapolis, and I find deals everywhere
You need to figure out your goals and your risk tolerance... You could do flips or rentals.. You could go Single family, or multifamily.. You could go low income or bread and butter...
Single families rent quicker and have tenants that stay longer than mutifams, but your cashflow is lower. Multifams take longer to rent, and you get quicker turnovers, but you get higher returns...
You need to decide where you want your rentals to be.. You can get higher returns in lower income areas(40-80k), but you won't see appreciation, and you will have more hassles with tenants. Bread and butter neighborhoods(80-125k) will see appreciation and better tenants.
Are you planning to get loans on properties from the get-go, then you need to find houses in better shape(will cost more) and there is minimums most banks will lend (40-50k). Banks don't like houses that need work, and houses that need more work are where the best deals are at. Cash buyers and people not afraid of work(or hiring contractors) are the best deals, but not everyone can be a cash buyer..
Once you narrow down your strategies, then you need to get good boots on the ground to help you find out where you need to be investing.