All Forum Posts by: Susan Maneck

One thing you do not want to see happen in Mississippi is for property managers to let your house go vacant for any amount of time. At best you will lose your air conditioner. I have seen properties under management by some of the biggest management companies in Jackson sit there and literally crumble down. There is no reason for this. People talk about vacancies in Jackson but I've never had a house sit for more than a couple of weeks. 

That's the problem with Mississippi. Properties cost less than the minimums banks want to loan. When it is owner occupied they have to give you a loan or it is considered red-lining but no such protections for investment properties. What I used to do is pay cash for my homes, hold them for a year and then get a first place HELOC on them from Wells Fargo. My only closing cost was the appraisal and it was possible to get around that. Unfortunately Wells Fargo no longer offers them, but it is how I built my little real estate empire in Mississippi, one house at a time.

 However, in Mississippi the price properties were sold for are not a matter of public record. 

How do you determine what the ARV is in Mississippi @Bob S.

The reason I ask is I come across a number of properties being sold by wholesalers in Mississippi from out of state and what they think the ARV is and what I think it is (based on my 20 years living there) are two different things.

I'm wondering how much of a market there is for this in Mississippi? Conventional homes are so cheap here, I think that is why we have so few mobile home parks. 

You do need to know your market. I invest in Mississippi although I currently  live in California but I lived in Mississippi for 20 years, so I know the market. For cash flow it can't be beat, but for appreciation it is not so good and it is easy for out-of-state people to overpay and not know it. Always check zillow and realtor.com estimates. And know the neighborhood. 

I know this market pretty well, however, I moved to California during the pandemic to take care of my elderly mother. I still own quite a few properties there. My real estate agent is also my property manager and her husband does much of the repairs. I can give you contact information if you like 

Be careful. If roofs don't get repaired right away in Mississippi they tend to get mold. 

To get an FHA mortgage you have to live in one of the units of a multi-unit no larger than a four-plex.

Welcome Kelsey! 

I'm a real estate investor in Jackson. If you can stand the moves and have limited resources it is a good idea to do the things you are doing the way you are doing it. I started buying up properties in my own neighborhood during the Recession and it worked out well. I currently own eight doors, having sold four of them during the pandemic, when my mother's age forced me to move back to California. If you are thinking of multis may I suggest you start out with a 2-4 unit. If you live in one unit it is eligible for conventional financing just like if it was a SFR. You can even get FHA financing.