All Forum Posts by: Rachel Leonard

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the tips. It's easy to tell everyone about our successes but not so easy to open up about our mistakes (but this is how we learn).

Hi Brian,

Welcome to BP. I'm also in the Atlanta market. There are plenty of buyers at the moment. I found the best place to find them is the local REIAs and they are usually specific about what they want which is good.

I joined the Georgia REIA (their HQ is not far from you - it's in Doraville) and they even have specific meetings on wholesaling and for local counties. I think Gwinnett county has a meeting in Duluth next week which may be close to you. Check them out at the below link:

http://gareia.org/

Good luck,
Rachel

Hi RGB,

Welcome to BP. Sounds like you're building an international property empire. I have similar goals. My husband and I are Australian (we're also British citizens) and we have some rentals in London (we lived there for 8 years).

We were transferred to Atlanta at the end of last year with my husband's employer so it's an opportune time for us to start buying some property in the US.

Would be interested to know more about how you manage everything from overseas as we'll probably end up doing this. Do you manage everything remotely including new acquisitions?

Rachel

Welcome Ricky. I'm also in the Atlanta area and would recommend joining a local REIA club. If you want to find deals (not on MLS) then you'll need to focus on marketing so look up the forum on here and learn everything you can about how to find motivated sellers.

If there's no issue with the property or the rental rate then I think it's just people's circumstances. We are currently renting in a nice area. My husband was transferred here for his work (we're from Australia originally). At some stage we'll either be transferred to another country or if we stay then we'll probably buy next year. We possibly have more choices then folks in lower priced areas.

I own property in London and I also find the same scenario there. Young professionals who rent my nicer places either move to other areas as their career progresses or they buy.

Welcome Karl. I'm in the Atlanta area as well. If you're marketing for your own deals then check out the 'Marketing' forum on this website. I've picked up some good tips from some of the more experienced investors on how to market for motivated sellers.

Also consider joining a local REIA where you can keep up to date on the Atlanta market. I'm not sure if there's one in your area but I belong to GAREIA.

Hi,

I've been contacted by a motivated seller who wants to sell 2 houses for the outstanding mortgage ($40,000 for both). This is in a town which is about 100 miles from where I live and is not somewhere that I invest or look for deals.

One of the houses looks promising. There are no recent comparable sales in the street but sold prices nearby range from $60k - $90k. The other house is in a not so great area and there are plenty of houses for sale $20k and under. Apparently the mortgage is on both properties so the seller wants to sell as a package.

I'm not interested in rehabbing or buying/ holding in this area so would rather pass onto another investor. Rent for one of the houses is approx. $500 per mth and the other $450.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how they would approach this deal?

Hi Jan and David,

Welcome to BP! I'm also starting out in Atlanta so I recently joined too. At least you guys know that you want to buy and hold so you've worked out your strategy (it's good to have a focus).

I agree that joining a REIA would be worthwhile.

Hi Douglas,

I'm also just starting out in the Atlanta market (and am new to BP). One thing I would suggest you look at is joining a local REIA group. I joined GAREIA and they have lots of meet-ups on specific types of RE investing, e.g., wholesaling or rehabbing. This allows you to network with other investors in your market area.

All the best,
Rachel

Thanks for the welcome Naga, Patrick, Mehran and Maurice.

Naga - where are you based in Atlanta? Do you belong to any REIA clubs? Would be good to meet up.

Patrick - I've just sent out some direct mail but I'll look you guys up next time.

Mehran - thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm certainly working towards success and feel I've been given a great opportunity with us being transferred to the US (and I don't want to squander that).

Maurice - I know Stone Mountain - I was looking at some properties around Tucker so not far. I notice that you're in Mississippi these days.