All Forum Posts by: Tim White

@Shannon D.

If you know that you are going to do repairs on the property I would recommend using using a contractor to inspect the property and give a quote of the repairs.  I generally do this as I have seen inspectors missed things that my contractor would pick up as they would be the one fixing the issues.

@Ben Wright

I personally use Redstone Federal Credit Union for my portfolio loans.  I have heard good things from Iberia, Eva, Bank Independent, and National Bank of Commerce.  One thing you could do is contact local lenders and see if any of them can aid in your particular situation.  @David Greene has a good write up for how to do this in his book Long Distance Real Estate Investing.

-Tim

@Eryka Santoyo

@Eryka SantoyoI am a local investor.  I personally do my own property management however I do know of some property managers in the area.  I know of some good local realtors here as well.

-Tim

@Joseph Breamer Huntsville is a good market we have been seeing appreciation here lately. South Huntsville and Madison are both good areas as they have some of the better school systems however you will not be getting good cashflow there as compared to other areas. In my opinion there aren’t any “d class” communities here however their maybe some streets that are worst than others. You generally see D Class communities in areas that have high unemployment which is not the case for Huntsville. Anyways best of luck on investing.  PM me if you need any contacts in the area. 

Good thread here.  As far as crime here in Huntsville we don't have the issues that most towns in the South East have that is due to very low unemployment and police force that doesn't have a lot to do.  If you call the police about pefty theft here you will get at least two patrol cars at your door in a few moments.  Also when driving through the Huntsville it is not obvious where crime takes place here as opposed to other cities.  Echoing what commentators above stated it more of a block by block situation here and as long as you have someone familiar with the areas its ok to invest in some of those c class properties.  If that is too risky you could always look for communities with the best school districts.  In all there are No War Zones in Huntsville.  If you want work you can find work here.

With the appraisals I have found that to be an issue as there has been a lot of appreciation in the last two years or so. Most appraisers only use comps from sales off the MLS and many sales under 100k don't show on there as they are off market. On my last two appraisals I had to challenge my appraisers on some properties as they were not comparing like and kind with similar upgrades. They worked in my favor however with that you still need to be cognizant in certain areas when looking to BRRR as the value for the property has went up even though the MLS market has not shown that much activity. I believe a lot of this is mainly due to things being undervalued for so long. Prior to 2017 appreciation here was pretty flat for a number of years.

@Jermaine Sailsman there are no meetups that I know of. There are quite a few REIA meetings here that could be found on Meetup.com and Facebook groups.

Hi @Crystal Place

I am could help with some of the contacts on your lists.  I know some pretty good contractors that could help you.  When do you plan to be here in Huntsville?  PM me if you have any specific questions.

@Walter Williams

I agree with @Theresa Harris.  Go ahead and put it under contract and have the roof be a contingency.  If it is a good deal other people will be looking at it and could offer before you or start bidding up the price.

@Shannon D. It’s difficult to specifically identify those areas. I would look into city data and news articles related to the area. You could also check where the new building permits take place. Look into the area that invent communities are building, midcity, medical district, and the Mill districts.

@Douglas Vogel,

There are a few good property managers in the area as stated above.  Some of them are area specific.  I would personally call them and do research as @Dave DeMarinis stated.

What type of properties are you looking to manage e.g. single family?  I currently do self managing of all my properties here and have the resources/contacts to help reposition other properties depending on their location.  PM me if you have any specific questions.

Property Management:

@Zachary C.

@Carolyn Dietrich

RCPM

Hamlet

Hollaway and Associaties

Just to name a few...

-Tim