All Forum Posts by: Canesha Edwards

@Kavian Anderson-Spells

My advice wouldn’t change. Think about it this way. The location of your properties are going to determine the type of tenant that rents from you. So, just keep that in mind.

I’m not saying that the Southside is a terrible area, I live in College Park myself. What I am saying is that the Southside is like what the West End, Used to be before gentrification. However, I honestly don’t see these areas appreciating like the West End did because of the school system and other economic factors ( there’s not any legit shopping, restaurants, or grocery stores in these areas, especially Riverdale. What you do have are liquor stores, check cashing places, and multiple fast food chains. So, just keep that in mind.

Yeah, small multi family properties are hard to come buy. If you know where you want to invest, I would suggest driving the area to get familiar with the area. I’ve found some great deals driving for dollars.

House hacking can be a great way to get started. It will give you first hand experience on being a landlord.

@Kavian Anderson-Spells

Welcome to BP. Honestly, I believe the Atlanta market is over priced, especially closer to the city. I do agree that the south side of Atlanta has lower price points but it really depends on what type of investor you’re looking to be and what type of tenant you want.

I say this because while everybody is looking to the Southside of Atlanta for deals, very few people are thinking about the area as a whole. The school systems on the Southside are terrible. ( Jonesboro, College Park, Riverdale are in Clayton County and South Fulton school districts which I would argue are probably in the top 5 worst school districts).

East point and some parts of College are close to a private school ( Woodward Academy). If you can find houses in this area for a discounted price, you probably could make a decent profit flipping. Everywhere else on the Southside I don’t see flipping being that profitable, unless maybe you’re supplying affordable housing.

I do feel like we’re almost at the end of this current market cycle, so for that reason I’m personally not buying anything in Atlanta. I’m aggressively saving money so when the market does turn I’ll be in a great position to buy. However, in 6-9 months if there hasn’t been a slow down, I might look to buy but I’m not in a rush.

The most important thing to remember when investing, is its all about the numbers. The number have to make sense. Set your property criteria, Be conservative in your underwriting, and never just take a person’s word for something. And don’t invest off of speculation.

I hope This helps.

Feel free to reach out to me with any other questions you may have.

Just my 2 cents.

Canesha

@Amgad Fahmy

Take a trip down to your county/city zoning department. You need to ask someone what the FAR ( floor area ratio) is for the zoning of your land.

The FAR is simply the total floor area of a building in relation to the size of the land it sits on.

Once you find out the FAR, you can calculate a rough estimate of the number of units you can fit on the property.

Ex. Say the FAR is 30%.

This would mean you have roughly 14,400sqft of building space for a 1.1 acre lot.

If you decided to make each unit 1,000sqft, you could get a total of 14 units.

This is a quick way to get a rough estimate of the number of units to start projecting rough budget estimates etc.

Use a local architect to firm up the numbers and go from there.

Hope this helps.

Canesha

@Gershom Lewis

Hello Gershom,

Here’s my opinion. Just because property prices in Atlanta are lower than NYC does not mean that there are amazing deals here.

Deals are harder to come by right now. Living in Atlanta, I see out of state investors buying houses at what they think are steals, when in reality they’ve over paid or purchased in a suburb that’s technically “outside “ of Atlanta.

Be conservative in your underwriting and bet everyone you come into contact with ( especially your boots on the ground people).

Like I said, I’m local so feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions.

Hope this helps.

Canesha

@Tyrell Hampton

No problem. One thing I forgot to mention. To find owner’s address, use the county tax website. Or you could pay for skip tracing.

@Tyrell Hampton

You just drive around neighborhoods where you want to invest and look for abandoned or poorly taken care of homes. Write down the address, drop a letter in the mail to the owner, and if you get a call back great. The key is in the follow- up though. I send at least 3 rounds of mailers to some owners. Others respond the first time. There’s an easier way to do this with Google Street and you can do it in every city, just from a computer.

@Tyrell Hampton

Welcome to BP.

I’ve paid for list ( absentee owners, high equity, pre-foreclosure, etc) and honestly it wasn’t worth the money. I’ve benefited more and received more call backs from driving for dollars or creating my own list. . It takes more effort on my part but I’ve received 13 leads from around 500 mailers, which isn’t too shabby.

Hope this helps.

Canesha

@Clara Brashear

Hey Clara,

I mean 2-4 units when I say small multi family.

Yes, it’s perfectly fine to start with a multi family property. A lot of people do it, it’s called house hacking. You live in one side and rent out the other units. This gives you experience as a landlord, all while living tent free or close to it.

The good thing about 2-4 unit properties is that they are still considered single family properties technically, so they can be purchased with FHA loans. FHA loans are great for first time buyers because they have lower credit standards and lower down payment options. You have to live in the property for a year but that's a small ask for a long term investment.

Hope this helps.

Canesha

@Matthew Lukas

I’m in the Columbus market. PM me.

@Denzel Ray

Just set a goal and go for it. You can do it. No need to rush, real estate investing has been around for ever and it isn’t going anywhere.

Get to a place where you feel comfortable with pulling the trigger.

I’m in Atlanta as well, so don’t be afraid to reach out with any questions you may have.