All Forum Posts by: Ali Boone

All the funds I've run into and have had to dodge have been buying the turnkeys, so no rehab work necessary and everything in place. At least in Atlanta, the funds have driven prices big time! That market is where they have been buying heaviest lately, but they are in other areas too. Chicago, Houston, I've heard LA even. Ever since good 'ole Mr. Buffett did his video saying he'd buy up SFRs, the funds have deployed everywhere.

Welcome!

Now I'm hungry thinking about cooking!

Welcome to BP. You're in luck because Houston is a huge market right now for investors so you don't have to venture out of your local area to get good deals! I send a lot of investors to an awesome turnkey provider there, so if turnkey single-families are something you're interested in, let me know and I'll give you their info.

Great market!

Hey Tim, Newnan and Palmetto are fine. I'm from Fayetteville which isn't too far from there. There are risks everywhere of course, but those two are on the less risky side in my opinion. They are further away from Atlanta the city, but that's totally normal for Atlanta- most people live out in the suburbs rather than the city.

If you ever have any Atlanta-specific questions, feel free to ask. I also work with a ton of Australians and other international buyers so can always try to help you there too if you need it.

I just wrote a blog on here about just this topic. I prefer the lower cap rates any day over the higher ones! People are so quick to only want the higher cap rates (on paper) that they don't see what vacancies and repairs do to those returns. They totally sink them. I know this firsthand. Feel free to check out my article in the blog section called Battle of the Cap Rates. Emphasizes what a lot of people have responded with here.

And to add to Aaron's comment, he's totally right about the MLS and such. I guarantee you if a property is still on the MLS after about 1 day in Atlanta right now, it's not a deal. I know numerous flippers who have an agent hired on solely to watch the MLS. As soon as a deal pops up, offers hit the table. So be leery of anything you find listed unless it literally just hit the list.

Sorry again to burst your Atlanta excitement, but better to have the heads up! There are still some rental properties, but not for long.

Atlanta has been the most popular market in the last couple years, since Phoenix peetered out, so there is still a lot of attention there. It's not dried out, but it's definitely drying out. So there are still some deals there, and a heck of a lot of investors still trying to sift through what is left, but nothing like what was there 1-2 years ago. You can still do stuff, but not only are you going to have to search high and low for the good stuff, you're going to have to beat off the hedge funds with a stick.

Yay Atlanta! I'm from there, but live in LA now, but was just back there for 5 months over the holidays working with investors. I only work with rentals, no flips, but I can tell you inventory is stupid-thin there now and I wish I had more positive things to say about the deals you will find. At least the single-family world is extremely picked over, prices have gone up, inventory is very low, and even the big boys are having a hard time getting more houses. It's not a lost market yet, but it's heading that way! So do it quick :) Or start thinking about new construction.

Say hello to Chick-fil-A and Waffle House for me :) I miss them dearly.

I would invest the money you would otherwise by holding waiting for the multi, dump that into single-families so you can get nice returns on it while you're waiting (versus <1% from the bank while it sits there) and then cash-out refi those properties and take that equity to put towards the multi. The risk of course being that you don't build equity so have nothing to pull out later, but at least you are making returns now and worst case, single-families are tending to get better returns per unit than big multis right now anyway, so you may still come out ahead with returns.

Remember, 10 singles are the same as having a 10-unit multi. So you don't necessarily need the multi to live off of.

Hey Malar, I'm actually from Atlanta and was just there for four months working with investors. I'm there quite a bit from LA, and all the properties I own are in Atlanta. I will warn that inventory (good inventory) is extremely thin there now as the market is finishing out. But you can still get good deals. As far as safety, Atlanta is no worse than any other metro city. Closer in of course you will have more crime, but in the nicer areas you are looking at skimpy returns. The trick is to get somewhere safe, good returns, good tenant quality.

If you're still looking, I can definitely tell you my preferences for where to invest, where to avoid, and give you a feel for what the returns are there right now.