All Forum Posts by: Ty Canal

Hey everybody, mainly a Philadelphia investor but have been buying some units down south. Some in Huntsville (now we're priced out up there) now looking to get into the Birmingham market. 

does anyone here have any HCV/section 8 experience in the Birmingham/Jefferson county area? How is the demand for these services down there? I see their housing authority isn't as big as others but seeing if it can be worthwhile. For the research I've done it looks like it fits our criteria but mainly looking to see if the demand is there. 

thank you for reading and let me know what you guys think! 

@Stuart Udis Stuart - if you don't mind do you know of any zip codes that have potential to break into that B class? 

To be transparent I own tons of D properties, some in C that I do believe can make the turnaround over time. But wanted to hear your input on it - you seem very well versed in Philadelphia. 

Side story here - my great grandfather bought 5 homes in Harlem back in the early 1900s for $2,000 a pop. Who knew manhattan would turn what it turned into and now they're worth over $5m a piece. So I do have that bias that things can change - especially here on the east coast where it is really insanely expensive to live. 

thank you in advance and thanks for your posts here on BP. 

@Alan Asriants this is very well said - definitely more of running a business then true real estate investing.

Can't disagree with that - Maybe if someone brings up class C/D properties it would be more wise to hammer that point - As someone who is in this space reading this thread (and many others on this topic) the general outlook is negative and seems like it's impossible

@Alan Asriants can't say you're wrong here - original post may become misleading. I've found massive success in these class C/D areas. One thing I will say is if you want this to be successful you need to scale at large, owning 2-4 you have a much higher chance at getting burned. 

I'm not sure where you're going with the courses, I'll never spend money on something I can learn myself, we live in a new age where everything you need is at your fingertips. 

I believe it's all about personality, when I first got into this all I wanted was to achieve financial freedom (no 9-5) and it got me there. C/D neighborhoods are great for replacing an income but it won't build you  that net worth compared to A/B investing. 

Not sure where credit is relevant in this situation, 90% of my tenants have good credit. It's just an added bonus of security for me even though in reality if most of them never pay their share the business will still operate fine. 

you make good points - nothing I can really dispute, I think your original post may be misleading, it's coming across as something that's not achievable - when it should come across as A/B is better in the long term. 

This could be true for a not so savvy investor, an emotional investor that looks at dollar signs and not common sense. 

Over 30 years I have amassed close to 400 properties all rented through section 8. Rarely, and I mean rarely do I have tenants not pay their share (for the most part they owe $100-$200 per month for their portion at the max). 

it's all about how you screen your tenants, don't get emotionally attached and agree when you finally get someone with a voucher that wants to rent. If you screen correctly many of these issues won't happen.

We make a great deal of net cash flow even after expenses/PM/T&I. It gives me the freedom to do what I want when I want, everybody's investment strategy is different as it relates to the individual. 

We can take your same example on that $300k home with rent n it backed by the government - tenant one day says I don't want to pay, now you're out a hefty mortgage. The appreciation is better on the more expensive home no doubt but as I mentioned everybody's investment goals are different. 

What you might think isn't good, many people have found massive success in. 

If it's worth it to hire then hire! You know if it is or not 

Great point!