buying to rent (section 8, renters, houses)

[gillyman]

hi, alot of great answers for those intending to live in GR's. however, my question is around purchasing low price housing purely for rentals. i know the adage "you get what you pay for" but nevertheless... the areas are around heritage hill, madison square, eastown. now, i have investigated concerns like crime-rates etc and obviously these dont paint too rosy a picture. people still have to live in houses however and pay rent so as a non-resident who knows nothing about your wonderful city, please inform me...cheers

[beachmouse]

I've got a cousin who does well with low-moderate income rental properties in GR. But he's very hands on with them- screens all the tennants himself (he's a cop so he's got a fairly well-developed sense for troublemakers) does a lot of the maitenance work on his own and his brother the professional plumber cuts him a deal on water/sewer issues.

It's not going to be a turnkey operation with those kinds of houses, especially since they're usually older housing stock, and the margins with them are low enough to begin with that a management company is going to seriously cut into the out-of-towner's ability to get a decent profit margin on them.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by gillyman

hi, alot of great answers for those intending to live in GR's. however, my question is around purchasing low price housing purely for rentals. i know the adage "you get what you pay for" but nevertheless... the areas are around heritage hill, madison square, eastown. now, i have investigated concerns like crime-rates etc and obviously these dont paint too rosy a picture. people still have to live in houses however and pay rent so as a non-resident who knows nothing about your wonderful city, please inform me...cheers

If you have plenty of cash reserves and can withstand chronic vacancies, go for it. It's definitely a good time to find some decent homes pretty cheap. If you're leveraging the whole thing and just speculating/flipping? Forgettaboutit.

[enigmaingr]

You might want to check out the Section 8 program. You would get a steady, guaranteed rent check and the tenants are under pressure to behavior or forfeit the Section 8 benefits.

If you don't want to go that route, check out the Belknap Park area. It is adjacent to the Medical Mile. That area is primed for a come back. In fact, investors are already moving in on the area. The houses are nice and well-built although many will need some repairs to attract the type of renters you would want. With it's proximity to the Medical Mile and downtown (literally a walk), I suspect many medical students will be looking to rent in the area.