Advice on best area's to buy for investment (Atlanta, Roswell: section 8, real estate)

[mj-rk1]

Hello, I am new to this thread and hope to get some good advice from anyone on here. We are looking at buying an investment property in Atlanta and would like to know what area's you can suggest that are considered good area's and that would be somewhat easy to find good tenants.

I have heard that buying a condo in the city is not an option, that there is a long wait list to rent out a condo because their is a building limit of what percentage can be rented by the condo board ? Is this correct ?.

Thanks in advance !

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by mj-rk1

Hello, I am new to this thread and hope to get some good advice from anyone on here. We are looking at buying an investment property in Atlanta and would like to know what area's you can suggest that are considered good area's and that would be somewhat easy to find good tenants.

I have heard that buying a condo in the city is not an option, that there is a long wait list to rent out a condo because their is a building limit of what percentage can be rented by the condo board ? Is this correct ?.

Thanks in advance !

What's your price range?
Looking for historic, intown or suburban?

[ATLTJL]

It is correct that virtually ever good condo building in Atlanta has a rental cap of 25% of the units and the waiting lists are long.

I don't know if it's possible to grease the palms of the HOA and get down the list faster or if one of the many new techniques being employed by savvy investors is working in this market. I have read about people forming corporations to own the units and then giving renters a share of the corporation so they are technically owner occupied and things like that, but I don't know if they have been successful in Atlanta. Seems like solutions like this are for sophisticated investors who have access to lawyers.

A lot of small time investors tend to go for single family homes, low rent condos that don't have caps or active HOAs, or townhouses in the suburbs.

[Jackalope]

I wouldn't buy a condo downtown as an investment on a bet. I think they were far overbuilt and the demand isn't nearly what it needs to be for investment.

That said, a lot depends on what sort of investment you're talking about? Appreciation? Income? What?

Surprisingly, one of the best investments seems to be buying houses over on the Southside where you can pick them up for next to nothing, then qualifying them for section 8 housing and renting them. Since the government is paying the rent, it's fairly reliable. But you really need to have a number of them to make it lucrative.

For appreciation, I think I'd be going far north, probably into Roswell. Not much right now, but they'll be the first to pick up after all the foreclosures are cleared out.

[ATLTJL]

If you like the sweat equity of fixing up a place and having it rent out for a higher price because of what you did to it, being a landlord could be a rewarding situation.

A lot of people, though, find it it be stressful and a lot of work.

If you're looking to just make money off real estate, you can research and invest in REITs that specialize in this type of activity. You won't have any control over what they do, but at least they are highly liquid and you can get in and out at your leisure. I know it's not the same thing as owning property, but it's much easier.

[lastminutemom]

Are you local?
If not, what is your plan to manage?

[mj-rk1]

Thank you for the good advice.

We are looking for properties that will give us good equity down the road, areas that are hot for people wanting to rent ( I would assume close to the city ), a good family neighbourhood.

No set price range, we would rather spend a little more to be in a good neighbourhood that can be easily rented then have to struggle to find renters because it is in a neighbourhood that no one wants to be in.

We would have to find a property manager to rent it for us, any advice with thistopic ?. We are currently in Ontario, canada.

Thanks again for any more advice

[cqholt]

SE city of Atlanta neighborhoods are hot and reasonably priced. East Atlanta, Kirkwood, East Lake, Edgewood, Reynoldstown, Cabbagetown, Old Fourth Ward, Ormewood Park.

[DaBurgh]

Search "Atlanta Beltline" and do some research on neighborhoods that border it

[Jackalope]

Well yeah, the SE properties are hot for rentals, but he said he wanted a "good family neighborhood". Big difference.

Let me ask you...what's your price range on this and do you ever plan on living there or is it just for investment? If just for investment, why would someone from Onterio be looking for investment property in metro Atlanta?

Please forgive me for being nosy. It just doesn't seem to make much sense and I'm trying to understand your objective so that I can respond properly.