All Forum Posts by: Michael S.

That is going to be a C or D neighborhood depending on the exact location.  

I can't answer the other questions about the area simply because we do not look at any properties in that location whatsoever.    

Small condos are few and far between in Huntsville; you may need to look elsewhere if you are absolutely determined to go with a condo as your REI option.

@Chase C.  Here's some interesting data for you to consider regarding zillow.  I have tracked our property acquisitions on zillow over time - roughly 1/3 of them show an accurate acquisition price/date, 1/3 show no data in regards to our acquisition (just shows the property is "off market" in perpetuity), and 1/3 show the previous sold price on the property for the transaction that pre-dates our acquisition (aka we bought it in 2017, zillow still shows the property selling in 2015 at that transaction price).  

So what this shows you is zillow's data scatter can be significant, and don't assume it is up to date whatsoever.  

You can still finds deals on the MLS in Huntsville for SFH - however, they are few and far between, usually are gone within 48 hours of listing, and are all in multiple offer situations in less than 24 hours. Very tough market for out of state folks as such. Recently saw a great rental property a month ago - within 24 hours, it had 7 offers on it (we lost out despite going over asking price).

Don't believe every "success" story you read on this site.

Looking for the easy way out is not the road to long term success.

@Joe Villeneuve  Sorry, I should have qualified that better - it's because we don't do any flips - we are buy and hold only model right now.  The cash flow from the buy and hold properties would take forever to accumulate for the next purchase obviously. 

To those that said people are "irresponsible" to invest while carrying student loans. . .first of all, who are you to judge how people manage their student loan burden?  Second of all, how is someone who has a credit card balance/debt, car loan balance/debt, or excessive spending on disposable goods "more responsible" than those who invest despite carrying a  student loan debt?

For the individual who called student loans "bad debt" - most financial planners will not classify it as bad debt whatsoever if it leads to a higher paying employment opportunity short term and long term.  If you have student debt that achieved you no further career success, sure, I could see where this is bad debt.  Bad debt by financial planner definition is credit card balances, car loans, or personal loans for disposable/depreciating items (furniture, vacations, etc).   Student debt is not a "one size fits all" category.  

Now, if you are using the actual student loans to invest in real estate - sure, not only is that irresponsible, but it is also fraud.  But if you used your student loans to solely pay for undergrad or grad school, and you are paying your loans down on time and appropriately, then why criticize someone for investing disposable income on real estate, which likely  has a better return potential than your student loan interest rate?  

@Kelly Iannone  I thinking aspiring to retire at 46 is fabulous.  For me, the reality of it is zero since I have kids.  However, I have already told my W2 employment that I will be giving them a one year notice the moment my youngest child finishes with college - which will occur in only about 13 years (!).  Long way to go, but plenty of time to continue investing!     

@Kendrick Smith  I think there are a lot of solid investment concepts here to review.  The sum of all this is you have to find whatever method works best for raising capital in your own individual situation.  

Joe's method is great - but it won't work for me for three reasons: 1. I am trying to scale our REI with money rather than time. 2. I have a business partner with whom we have to match our investments to keep everything 50/50. 3. I do not have a better investment option to put my W2 proceeds in right now otherwise (stock market, savings account, etc are not as desirable investments for me right now).

Lowe Mill is a transitional area - could be a home run with appreciation, or could be unchanged in 10 years.  Actually, the number of investors who are predicting/speculating it will do well have inflated prices this past year quite a bit, so proceed with caution accordingly.   

I honestly don't have any specific neighborhood/areas that we only focus on.  It's all about reviewing any opportunities that come our way - Huntsville/Madison are too small with too many investors already to have a niche market focus so to speak.  When I mentioned we don't have anything in 35806, it is simply because better opportunities have come along in other zip codes, and we can only invest so much capital at a point in time with our business model.