All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Julie Kern My company works with first-time investors often and the best advice I can give you is to do your research on a contractor if you have to renovate a house!!! I've seen people give a contractor thousands of dollars and they have ran away with the money.  Also, do your research on the area surrounding any investment you may make.  Being from Woodstock, I would say that it's hard to go wrong investing in that area as Atlanta spreads out.  You could cash flow off of a house and sell it at a higher price point once you have your retirement funds in order.

@Account Closed said, I would be aware of the neighborhoods that you invest in.  It also depends on what you would want to spend.  If you're going more for the 200k-up range, I would try Gwinnett or Cobb counties.  Below that, I would look into the areas around the beltline as certain neighborhoods are improving every day (areas like Edgewood and Kirkwood).

@Derrick Shipman The areas around the beltline would be a good place to look for housing at your budget (Edgewood, Kirkwood, West End, etc.).  Flips in this area generate about 20% equity on average among my investors.

Agreed @Azeez K. all of those neighborhoods are rising in value consistently and those are our favorite deals to get. @Joel Craig I would recommend investing in an area that you like.  That way you would be on-site to oversee your project more frequently and knowledge of the area is very important!  Also you have the opportunity to meet people in that area that can refer you to people that want to live in that area.

@Joel Craig My best friend lived in Cabbagetown and he is regretting moving to Buckhead!  As for areas that are currently improving, I would check out Edgewood and Grant Park.  Every time we get a house there its sold within a day.

@Luis Montanez I grew up in a rental property in Acworth and I have seen that area grow exponentially firsthand.  I believe that it will become as popular as the East Cobb area in the future considering schools such as Etowah High are ranked in the top 3% for standardized test grades in the nation.

@Jerry Poon  spot on.  We work with a lot of them because we do the work for our clients on the front end with appraisals, restoration, and selling the home.

@Jerry Poon  A TK buyer is one with no interest in the property.  They are simply providing the funds to a TK operator who buys and sells the house for the investor. To tag someone in the way I did you in this post, put the @ symbol then hit the spacebar once and enter their name.  Below the reply box their name should appear.

@David C. My company is based in Texas and Atlanta was the first city outside of Texas that they affiliated with because of their belief in our expanding market.  Depending on what neighborhood in Atlanta you are in (mostly north of I-20 with the exception of a few suburbs on the south side), the market for flips is tremendous.  All of our properties within those areas sell within 24-48 hours.

Thank you @Bradley Bogdan it is always good to have statistics to give to my clients.  @Rick Baggenstoss agreed, many people I have talked to in the Atlanta area have come to find that Section 8 tenants tend to treat rental properties better and pay their rent in a more timely manner than traditional renters, likely because they are removed from the program for life if they are kicked out of the house.  Although the VASH program enlists a lot of renters who come up as red flags, my clients say that most of their renters are using this opportunity for a fresh start on life that would not be available to them otherwise.