All Forum Posts by: Justyn Hope

Hello everyone -

Thank you for all of your responses, they have been very helpful! I spent some time this week speaking with both my realtor and property manager. Both live in the area, the property manager was born and raised there. They both gave me a few suggestions on what neighborhoods to invest in and not to invest in. Now I can narrow down my search area which will make things less overwhelming.

Now looking at the bigger picture as some of you suggested - I'm going to stick with the 100K range. Initially, I was more concerned about the cash flow and quite honestly did not put enough thought into the quality/stability of tenants or the appreciation of the property.

The numbers I've been using... 20% down @ 7% interest. 5K for initial renovations. 150/month for insurance. 10% for repairs/cap ex. 13% for property management (it's only 8% but there is an annual inspection fee, renewal fee, and new lease fee.).

Hello Everyone -

I am looking to purchase my first investment property. I've decided to purchase a single family home in Birmingham, AL. I have found a realtor, property manager, and financing. The problem I'm having is picking a neighborhood. I initially planned on purchasing a home for around $100K and putting 20% down. I spend a decent amount of time analyzing deals - the only homes that seem to work are in the $50K-$65K range. I'm not sure if my expectations are too high, or if I  have not found the right deal yet. I'm an out of state investor so I don't know the area that well - I'm going off of research and what my property manager has said. It almost seems as if it's a street by street basis..  I'm afraid of picking an "okay" area over a "good" area and it turning out to be a bad investment.  Any advice?