All Forum Posts by: Ben Firstenberg

People ask me this sometimes, may I offer an alternate point of view?

The most important thing isn't WHICH market. There are lots of great "cash flow" markets out there and lots of great "appreciation" markets out there. It's not super difficult to find places to invest. The opposite, actually. Thanks to the BP community, Zillow and the internet, a person could reasonably invest in any city they want. It's TOO MANY options!

Furthermore, all of the market level information is pretty widely known. Experienced investors already know which markets are poised for growth and which markets are better suited for cash flow investments. I'm not trying to criticize you for not knowing, I'm just saying you will learn very quickly.

So, your competitive advantage isn't going to be in figuring out which market to invest in. Your competitive advantage (especially in the SFR and small MFR space) is going to be finding the right people. You need agents (or wholesalers), contractors, Property Managers and lenders that are good at what they do, and that you can trust. WHERE they are doesn't really matter. 

My advice? Pick a few markets that interest you and start reaching out to people on this forum in those markets. Agents and wholesalers will be the easiest to contact. Talk to them, see if you work well together and have similar goals. Over time, you can put together a small team and get ready to do some deals.

Hope that helps, feel free to DM if I can answer any questions

I'd agree with the others on this one. 

LTRs in general in Atlanta are just so hard to make work. Prices/rates are too high and rents don't cover it. To anyone interested in LTR, I recommend a MTR, rent by the room model. It will be more work, but it will help you cash flow the property for a few years until you can "afford" to rent it long term. 

LTR is a "luxury" in today's market, the way I see it. Hustle through a few years of MTR/rent by the room and you'll probably be in really great shape. 

Hey Mark, I know someone who might be able to help. I'll DM you

Me and my team have helped investors buy a lot of Padsplits over the past few years. We've had a really great experience with the platform. There are definitely horror stories, but MOST of them work out well. You just have to pick your spots. Look for mostly investor owned neighborhoods. Clayton county and the south part of Fulton (specifically College Park) have been great for us. Want to make sure there's plenty of room for parking, as about half your tenants will bring cars. 

The minimum "initial" lease term in Atlanta is 2 or 3 months, so they don't qualify as STRs, and thus don't have the same regulatory issues. It's a MTR

It's definitely a little more headache than a typical LTR, but you're rewarded for the effort with much better cash flow. It's not unusual for my clients to bring in $5000+/month in top line revenue. 

I frequently recommend Padsplit to my clients.

@Najhae Robinson Would love to chat more your business. I'll DM you

Hey Scott, great to meet you and welcome to the platform! 

I like the rule as a starting point and a decent guideline. I think, though, that it's important to look past it and actually analyze expected rent vs expenses and mortgage payments. Lots of great deals don't hit 1% and lots of bad deals do. 

Furthermore, the long term appreciation potential of a property is just as important as the cash flow. So is price relative to the rest of the market. 

Also, let's remember the 1% rule was created when interest rates were lower. So even a true 1% deal won't look very good today, by comparison. 

Check out the Georgia REIA. They have a "Southside" subgroup that might be what you're looking for.

It's definitely doable, but as you said you need a good GC who can communicate well. The buyer/owner will be wanting progress updates and will want to make sure everything is going smoothly. You, yourself, may have to jump in to help communicate as well. Visit the property once every couple of weeks to check on things, send photos/videos.

Once you've built a relationship with a good GC who works well with yall, your buyer probably won't need to fly up for every deal. You and the GC can send photos and videos as necessary. The buyer may still WANT to, but it won't be necessary anymore. 

The advantage of small towns is less competition. There may only be a handful of other agents in your area and frankly, they may not be very good. 

Of course, a bigger city will have much more deals and activity, but it will be harder to break into that market. You won't have any connections and you won't know the market very well. The competition will be much stronger, you don't last long as an agent in a big city unless you're good. 

I don't think having to restart later is necessarily a bad thing. Once you know how to do it, it's a lot easier the second time. Especially if you have some savings and experience behind you. 

It's all a trade off

Are you talking about a firm such as JLL, CBRE, Newmark or Berkadia?

If so, your best bet is to treat it like an investment banking job. Be the first one there and last to leave. Do as much work as you can. Learn as much about their excel models, pitch decks and connections as you can.

What are they expecting you to do? Are they asking you to bring in business? Most people who start at these firms are expected to put their head down and grind out all of the busywork that is required to make these deals work.