[findmeahome]

Hi everybody,

I have a property I'm looking at in Frederic, MI (south of Gaylord). It's 7 units and under $200k and I would be using it as a rental and for investment.

It's been on the market for 14 months. The owner is out-of-state and motivated to sell. The cash flow works out for investment purposes. But it's the area that I'm not so sure of. It's a low-income area (the words of the broker) and it's never had a property manager, as it's always been in family hands.

I've been trying to search for a property manager in the area. I am also out of state but don't mind buying a good property and having it managed professionally. However, it's such a small place that I haven't been able to find any companies servicing the area.

So I brought up to the broker asking around locally to see if any other property owners would want to take a commission to take care of this one too.

That's all to be continued... and I guess my question to all you folks is if you think buying a house out here is even a good idea. What do you see happening in and around Frederic? I got the impression that it might be "touristy" so it wouldn't matter so much that it's lower-income. Basically, does Frederic have a future?

Thanks so much for reading through this. I tried to be complete in describing my process. I appreciate your thoughts.

[JJools]

In reference to your post regarding Frederic. I moved here after I retired in 2006. It is not entirely a low rent area. Most of the retirees are from GM and reside on both of the rivers, certainly not low rent!!!!! There is not much in the line of jobs here but during the winter, the smowmobiles overtake the area. Most of the income here comes from that season. The snowmobile trails start at Frederic. Downtown consists of two bar restaurants, a gas station-convience store, a little grocery store, and that is about it. It is a scenic place but I can say that they only way you could make a go of it is to rent to snowmobilers, canoers etc... My father was raised here and went downstate to work. When he retired, he moved back up here. I have been coming here my whole life and have not seen much change over the past years. You could possibly rent to low income people but I would advise someone overseeing your investment. If you would like further info, feel free to email me!