All Forum Posts by: Michael S.

@Greg Parker - not frequently at all, but I've been to Montgomery probably 10 times over the past 5 to 7 years.  

I will freely admit whenever I am wrong, because the amount of incorrect information that shows up about North Alabama on BP is incredible.  So I stand corrected on appreciation for B areas in Montgomery - however, Huntsville, by comparison, has seen a higher appreciation rate for B areas, so relatively speaking, the appreciation perhaps is still not as robust as other areas of Alabama.  I also think every area of the US appreciated by a similar metric in the past 5 years.  But I stand corrected on the absolute appreciation amounts for Montgomery, apologize for my incorrect statement, and I will certainly defer to your knowledge on this area.  

However, the population data you quoted is contrary to the US census data.  I pulled this from the US Census government website for the City (not county) of Montgomery.

population      -       year

205,764                  2010

200,603                  2020

196,986                  2022 

I believe 2022 is projected, so I wouldn't take it as absolute fact.  But my comments were based on US Census data, not my personal guesses.  

@Trent Stevens - new investors should not be looking at C/D properties in Montgomery in my opinion.  Those will be rough areas, and very high risk for bad outcomes with tenants and/or property damage.  

Just curious - have you been to Montgomery before?  You might want to visit it first, and make sure anything you invest in there is a solid cash flow play;  appreciation there tends to be limited, especially with the lack of growth there.  

SFH in Huntsville/Madison does not cash flow right now unless you have a high down payment, go C/D class neighborhood, or you find a fabulous off market deal. Appreciation has slowed given how rapid everything went up over the past 3 years.

I think Birmingham may be your best option for what you're looking for if you want to invest in Alabama, but I do not have any investments there, so I can't be of much help there.  

Good luck in your real estate journey.   

@Michael Behr - cash flow in Huntsville right now is very difficult.  

Doing a house hack is likely your best option right now.  

Be careful with multifamily, as too much new multifamily has been built here in the recent past - depending on the rent level, getting tenants may not be that easy.  

I've never asked my property manager for a W9, nor has my accountant, and I have no idea why I ever would.  And yes, my properties are in LLCs

@Colin Flynn - as noted above, could an MTR work here?  Sure - a year ago.  We have one that is currently being rented - but the tenant has been in it for over a year now.

We had another MTR we just removed from the market recently, and listed the property for sale.  Absolutely no chance to rent it.  Why you ask?  When Huntsville changed the rules for STRs, EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, changed their STRs to MTRs overnight.  When we first looked at the market for MTRs two years ago, they were few and far between.  Now, there are a ton of them, as they were all previously STRs.

I would NOT recommend trying an MTR right now in Huntsville proper.  We are selling the one we couldn't rent, and may sell the other when that tenant leaves.

@Justin Swain - if you are looking in Huntsville/Madison, this will be rather challenging.  There is not much MF housing here in general (other than the expensive new builds), and the MF available is priced aggressively and/or in C/D neighborhoods.  Buying single family and having a roommate rent from you would likely be a more viable option.  I don't invest in Decatur, but perhaps there would be more options there that work, although appreciation will be more limited there.  Good luck.  

@Asa Ifill - do you have any contacts with local banks in Huntsville or in Marshall county? I don't mean regional banks, but the small community banks with only one to two branches? They will probably be your best bet as they typically only loan to local folks in the community rather than OOS investors. I would think 65% LTV would likely be feasible for them. Just a thought.

@Michael Bayrakeri - April 2011 was the scariest tornado outbreak I have ever experienced, and hope to never experience it again.  That said, it has virtually zero impact on my investing here.  Why not zero?  Because there are two highway segments that seem to attract tornados in Madison/Limestone county, and I would not buy anything in those areas whatsoever.  So outside of a few miles in the two counties, I'm open to any deals otherwise.  

I am going to add an important one as well.

11.  That positive reviews of mentorship programs posted on Bigger Pockets by individuals with less than 10 total posts and/or less than 6 months on Bigger Pockets are legit reviews.  Nope.  

@Han Oo - personally, I would also recommend looking at other locations besides Huntsville right now for MF for the following reasons:

1.  There is almost nothing available here unless you want to pay top of the market prices

2.  There is a LOT of new MF being built in Huntsville right now, such that I think this will be problematic in the next 2-3 years unless you are looking for MF with rent of less than $1000/month, as there is strong demand for this price point and below

Prices are so high right now that people are asking for $200 per square foot in 35810 for SFH. That's just wild to me.

Good luck with your search.