In September of 2017 I bought a cabin at Lake Kahola which is about a 22 mile bike ride away from Emporia, Kansas. And since I usually drive through Emporia, KS on my way to and from Lake Kahola I’ve come to know the town pretty darned well. I ride my bike there. We buy groceries and house supplies and what-nots in Emporia. And we eat there as there are some great little dives there.
I say all that to say I’ve really been studying this small Kansas city. They lay claim to having the first Veteran’s Day, they are home to the Dirty Kanza some say they invented Disc Golf there, too. You can read more at Visit Emporia. And folks, if you are a real estate investor…this market is ripe.
For instance, I have discovered three fourplexes for sale by a co-op broker. They are priced at $79,900 for the building with four one-bedrooms, $119,900 for four two-bedrooms, and 129,900 for the one with two one-bedrooms and two two-bedrooms. All the rental properties are 50% leased.
While I have not yet walked the properties I can see from the pictures that there is quite a bit of deferred maintenance. What I like is;
- The neighborhood is solid. I’ve ridden my bike through there a few times.
- The neighborhood is in a great location….and not too far from the University.
- Hospital right down the road.
- I believe rents could be raised when condition is raised.
In my research of Emporia I’m stunned by how little professionalism there is in property management in regards to marketing and condition. And I believe that sets us up nicely. In that regard, we have requested rents and rent rolls a few times and have not heard back. Sadly, this has been par for the course.
I’m guessing/estimating rents for the one-bedrooms to be in the $425 – $450 range while two-bedrooms are closer to $500 – $550 depending on condition. Note that most are window unit air conditioning systems.
So, if you had two and two (one and two-bedrooms) your Gross Rents would be $1,850 m/l. Take a purchase price of $129,900 and you end of with a Gross Rents to purchase ratio of roughly .17. That’s nearly unheard of in Johnson County, Kansas and is even getting more difficult in Kansas City, Missouri…at least in neighborhoods we choose to recommend in regards to intangible value.
There are other rental homes that would be excellent buys as well. Should you have any interest, reach out to me at your earliest convenience and we’ll send you a link to what we are seeing. We’d love to help you with your “Retirement worth having.” by capitalizing on this market.
And the best part? Jimmy and I have secured a local real estate broker to help us with the sales and management processes. We have it all set up. We just need a buyer.
Contact me or give me a call at 913-568-1579
Kansas City Investment Property and Property Management 