All Forum Posts by: Jack Inman

From what I've noticed, once you dip below the 600 dollar range the quality of tenants drops off pretty quick. I know a local investor who only buys duplexes and he has great luck, but it can be very hit or miss with the tenants. 

Yeah, seems like working at a property management company would be a relatively easy segue into brokering.  Does your mgmt company have its own brokerage company? 

@Leo Koonan  Memphis is a major player in the single family rental market for good reason. You'll find high rental rates relative to the acquisition price and favorable landlord laws here. I've personally evicted a tenant and gone through the bankruptcy courts when a tenant who I was evicting filed bankruptcy. The eviction cost less than $200 and the tenant will be out in less than two months; very easy and straight forward process. Usually the tenant doesn't show up and you get a default judgment. 

If you do your due diligence when placing a tenant then you likely won't have an eviction in the first place. (My eviction was a tenant that was in the property when I bought the place)

Let me know if you have any specific questions,

Jack

I too live in Normal Station; Daniel is spot on with rental rates. I'd personally be more inclined to invest a little further south in the area called Sherwood Forest. I've looked at investing around Normal Station and the numbers just don't cut it for me; I've had great luck in Sherwood Forest. 

That being said, the U of M does drive the demand and Normal station will always be a very safe place to invest in.  

Just look up local rental rates on any rental website. Zillow, craigslist, hotpads; they'll give you a sense of what local rates are. Also those websites are decent for gathering home values as well; just know that they won't be accurate on each individual home, but overall they'll give you some good information. 

For business trends; look in the news for new jobs opening in town, or for jobs closing. Drive around and look for new commercial construction, etc..

You can probably google major employers and get a sense of who the big players are in the area and what kind of local market share each major company holds. 

You've got a lot of good advice on this thread with regards to finding a property for the BRRR technique. Probably the most crucial part of the BRRR is pulling your money out at the end. It's important to find a lender that will be favorable during the refinance part of the deal. Some appraisers will work with you more than others will; so my advice would be to ask a couple property management companies or local investors what lenders they recommend.

Investing with your father would be a great start! I think wholesaling is one of the most difficult and time consuming ways to break into the real estate world. (I've never wholesaled though so take my advice with a grain of salt)

I'd personally shoot for a BRRR buy and hold strategy. Getting your real estate license is certainly not a bad idea; it will help you get connected in the real estate world.

Also lots of real estate organizations such as IREM, Lambda Alpha, etc.. are hungry for student members.   

Tyler, I don’t know much about Dyersburg, but from a very general approach there’d be a couple metrics that I’d look for. 

1. How do the rental rates compare to the acquisition costs? Obviously low acquisition costs and relatively high rental rates would be a favorable scenario for a buy and hold investor. 

2. I’d look at housing price trends and business trends. Trends over the last decade can provide some insight as to how properties and businesses in that area react to different economic situations. 

3. Like Michael said; is the area’s economy diversified or does it henge on one main employer. This would be especially important when investing in a smaller town.

Those three items are probably the first things I’d look into when assessing a new market. 

It's totally possible! I'm 22 and I've got 2 properties. Granted properties in my area are very cheap relative to most other cities. My personal strategy has been to live in the cheapest place that I can tolerate and pour all of my money into rental houses. One of my tenants was very amused when they saw how small my personal house is, (both of my rental properties are larger than my personal residence) but hey a little sacrifice now goes a long way in the future! 

Sweat equity can go a long way when funds are short. I've helped an out-of-state investor purchase a property in which he drove to Memphis and completed much of the renovation work himself. Most landlords aren't willing, or able, to do this, but in his case, it did save him a considerable amount of money. 

For a tight budget, the BRRR method is worth considering. You can use a private lender to purchase a distressed property, renovate it, rent it out and then pull 75% of the appraised value out during a refinance. Chances are you will still have to put your own capital into the deal, but this method, if done properly, can minimize the amount of capital required.