1st Time House-hacking Home Buyer: Need Advice on Location!

Atlanta, Georgia
First-Time Home Buyer
3yFollow

1st Time House-hacking Home Buyer: Need Advice on Location!

Shay Yao
Member since 2023 · 16 posts · 9 votes

Hello, everyone! I moved to Atlanta for work a couple of years ago and I just fell in love with city. Now, I’m ready to buy a house and call Atlanta home!

As someone who’s relatively new to town, I would really appreciate some advice on locations of my 1st house-hacking project. The plan is to purchase a single-family house (3 bedrooms) with a large basement or an in-law suite, so I can renovate & live in the basement/in-law suite while renting out the main part of the house.

Regarding location, I currently live in North Druid Hills and I love the area. But the broad boundary I’m looking at is north of 154, east of 75&85, and within the parameter. I’m also looking at East Atlanta because the rent to price ratio is great there. The budget is $400k with a tiny bit wiggle room.

When thinking about location, here are a few things I consider:

1. Convenience. The house needs to be not too far from the happening places (e.g., midtown, downtown).

2. Rental market. The house needs to be easily rented out with a fair price.

3. Schools. This is the area I need a lot of advice on, but overall I’m hoping that the house is in a good school area so I can rent the house out to families.

4. Safety. For example, I need to feel safe walking around the neighborhood with my lady friends.

5. House condition. I prefer not to get a newly renovated house to avoid the premium cost. I'm happy to do some basic touch-ups. I would avoid major rehab simply because this is my 1st time buying a house. No townhouse or condo.

6. Growth. Ideally the house would be in an area with quality population growth (e.g., highly educated, stable jobs) so the price will appreciate in long term. An up & coming area would be ideal, but I would also consider the upcoming recession and how that would impact the up & coming areas.

My question for you is - Based on these preferences, what are the specific areas/neighborhoods I should be looking at?

PS: I’m patient to wait for a good deal. I’m pre-qualified by multiple lenders and I’m on a month-to-month lease. This is my very first major investment and I really want to do it right. If you have any advice regarding the locations or anything that I haven’t thought about, please don’t hesitate to share. I’d really appreciate your help!

1Reply
13 views

Most Popular Reply

Ben Firstenberg
Investor · Cleveland · Member since 2021 · 247 posts · 240 votes
3y

Based on those criteria, your best bet is probably Decatur. There are places where the prices are too high, but there are also some areas where it's not too bad. It depends a little bit on the returns you expect. If you're willing to put in some month every month, you can probably find something. But if you want to live for free, you're probably not going to find that north of 154, east of 75/85 and ITP.

There are a lot of great house hacking locations OTP as well. You might have more success there, if the initial search doesn't go well. 

The in-law suite strategy is a good idea. That's where I've seen people have the most success with house hacking recently. 

Best of luck!

2Reply
See this reply in the discussion

5 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Ben Firstenberg
    Investor · Cleveland · Member since 2021 · 247 posts · 240 votes
    3y

    Based on those criteria, your best bet is probably Decatur. There are places where the prices are too high, but there are also some areas where it's not too bad. It depends a little bit on the returns you expect. If you're willing to put in some month every month, you can probably find something. But if you want to live for free, you're probably not going to find that north of 154, east of 75/85 and ITP.

    There are a lot of great house hacking locations OTP as well. You might have more success there, if the initial search doesn't go well. 

    The in-law suite strategy is a good idea. That's where I've seen people have the most success with house hacking recently. 

    Best of luck!

    2Reply
  • Shay Yao
    OP
    Member since 2023 · 16 posts · 9 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Ben Firstenberg:

    Based on those criteria, your best bet is probably Decatur. There are places where the prices are too high, but there are also some areas where it's not too bad. It depends a little bit on the returns you expect. If you're willing to put in some month every month, you can probably find something. But if you want to live for free, you're probably not going to find that north of 154, east of 75/85 and ITP.

    There are a lot of great house hacking locations OTP as well. You might have more success there, if the initial search doesn't go well. 

    The in-law suite strategy is a good idea. That's where I've seen people have the most success with house hacking recently. 

    Best of luck!


     Thank you for your input! I am looking at Decatur, but Decatur is big I'm not sure which areas are  better than the rest. Any suggestions? I'm willing to put in a little cash every month as long as there's cash flow when I move out.

    What OTP areas are worth investing these days? I know Marietta, Roswell, and Alpharetta are all pretty good. But I'm curious what you think! 

    0Reply
  • Josh Bowser
    Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 414 posts · 233 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Ben Firstenberg:

    Based on those criteria, your best bet is probably Decatur. There are places where the prices are too high, but there are also some areas where it's not too bad. It depends a little bit on the returns you expect. If you're willing to put in some month every month, you can probably find something. But if you want to live for free, you're probably not going to find that north of 154, east of 75/85 and ITP.

    There are a lot of great house hacking locations OTP as well. You might have more success there, if the initial search doesn't go well. 

    The in-law suite strategy is a good idea. That's where I've seen people have the most success with house hacking recently. 

    Best of luck!


     @Ben I had the exact same thoughts. Decatur checks the boxes for affordability, proximity to the 'fun', growth, and safety (neighborhood definitely matters here though)

    2Reply
  • Shay Yao
    OP
    Member since 2023 · 16 posts · 9 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Shay Yao:

    Hello, everyone! I moved to Atlanta for work a couple of years ago and I just fell in love with city. Now, I’m ready to buy a house and call Atlanta home!

    As someone who’s relatively new to town, I would really appreciate some advice on locations of my 1st house-hacking project. The plan is to purchase a single-family house (3 bedrooms) with a large basement or an in-law suite, so I can renovate & live in the basement/in-law suite while renting out the main part of the house.

    Regarding location, I currently live in North Druid Hills and I love the area. But the broad boundary I’m looking at is north of 154, east of 75&85, and within the parameter. I’m also looking at East Atlanta because the rent to price ratio is great there. The budget is $400k with a tiny bit wiggle room.

    When thinking about location, here are a few things I consider:

    1. Convenience. The house needs to be not too far from the happening places (e.g., midtown, downtown).

    2. Rental market. The house needs to be easily rented out with a fair price.

    3. Schools. This is the area I need a lot of advice on, but overall I’m hoping that the house is in a good school area so I can rent the house out to families.

    4. Safety. For example, I need to feel safe walking around the neighborhood with my lady friends.

    5. House condition. I prefer not to get a newly renovated house to avoid the premium cost. I'm happy to do some basic touch-ups. I would avoid major rehab simply because this is my 1st time buying a house. No townhouse or condo.

    6. Growth. Ideally the house would be in an area with quality population growth (e.g., highly educated, stable jobs) so the price will appreciate in long term. An up & coming area would be ideal, but I would also consider the upcoming recession and how that would impact the up & coming areas.

    My question for you is - Based on these preferences, what are the specific areas/neighborhoods I should be looking at?

    PS: I’m patient to wait for a good deal. I’m pre-qualified by multiple lenders and I’m on a month-to-month lease. This is my very first major investment and I really want to do it right. If you have any advice regarding the locations or anything that I haven’t thought about, please don’t hesitate to share. I’d really appreciate your help!


     OK, BiggerPockets hivemind, I might be able to bump budget up to 450k. Does that change my location options? 

    0Reply
  • Michael Dumler
    Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    @Shay Yao, to be upfront, based on your boundary location, your budget is way too tight, unfortunately. There is a big difference between in-town neighborhoods north of Memorial Drive vs. south. In-town neighborhoods such as East Lake, Kirkwood, Oakhurst, and Edgewood are affluent now with housing prices anywhere from 600k to over a million. A fixer-upper in these respective neighborhoods sells for around 400k now. It's crazy to see because 10 to 15 years ago these subdivisions were considered rundown/dangerous areas of ATL. As you head north toward Druid Hills, Decatur, and North Druid Hills housing only becomes even more expensive. Neighborhoods south of East Atlanta Village are still feasible and within your budget, however, keep in mind, you're competing against other aggressive buyers and investors. Moreover, your criteria are way too constrictive. You want to have every box checked off but the reality is with current market conditions you're going to have to sacrifice tradeoffs. Simply put, you'll never acquire the best property, in the best up-and-coming area, in the best school district, at the best price, etc. You have to recognize that there will be tradeoffs in real estate. If safety is a priority, with your budget of around $400k-$450k, you need to be looking at markets such as Marietta, Smyrna, Doraville, Norcross, Clarkston, etc. Furthermore, there are "up and coming" neighborhoods south of the City such as West End, Oakland City, and Venetian Hills within your budget, however, these areas can still vary block-by-block and the school districts are not great. This is what I'm referring to when discussing tradeoffs. Once you start looking at properties more thoroughly you'll understand what I mean. Overall, I love the strategy and have advocated for it time and again, but as a first-time home buyer, it's essential to be realistic during the process. If you have any additional questions regarding investments or the Atlanta market in general, feel free to shoot me an email or text to connect (contact info is listed in my bio). Hope this helps!

    1Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free