favorite areas for investing in Memphis (apartment complexes, rentals, houses)

[Dagmar22]

I am looking to invest in rental properties (duplexes-fourplexes right now) in Memphis, and I would like to find out if anyone has a favorite/preferred area for investing in Memphis. I am also interested in why that area is your favorite/preferred area. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. I have been doing research, but any ideas from people already investing in the area would be very helpful!

[Memphis People]

I am not a realtor, but the way things are now; you'll probably find what you are looking for at a good price and good location.

realtor.com is pretty good

[2nomadic4me]

My uncle is renting houses in Frayser and Raleigh and is not doing well off of those properties. I would suggest east memphis.

[nvstr4u]

memphisinvest.com

It is where I started.

[2nomadic4me]

There are some Duplexes on the border of Hickory Hill/Fox Meadows/Parkway Village right off (to the west) of where Mendenhall meets Knight Arnold. My dad lived there in the late 80's and the demographics changed dramatically and a couple of years later: he got a gun stuck in his face when he opened his front door. In the last two weeks He did not die In the last two weeks there have been 5 burglaries, two assaults, 7 thefts, and 2 vandalism's within a mile radius of Cristil St.

It's basically West Hickory Hill, East Parkway Village. The only reason why I say Fox Meadows is because of the stuff North East of that area. Still, people are moving (to rent) to that area. The question is, would you want those people as tenants? These duplexes are about 2-3 miles away from the gravesite of the Mall of Memphis (or as we locals call it "Mall of Murder") to just give you a better idea of where these houses are! I would still suggest Eastgate.

Here's one of the duplexes: 3361 Cristil Street, Memphis, TN 38118 - LoopNet

[simcity]

Zip codes that I favor for investment properties:
38111 (East of Highland).
38117
38119 (North side of Park)

I avoid anything built before 1950.
Must have brick exterior.
Must have central air (zero window units).
Must have covered parking.
Must be within the 240 loop.
Must be in a location that consists of predominantly of owner occupied single family homes.
I also prefer the property to be located < 3 miles from my primary residence.

I check the online listings multiple times per week and there’s currently nothing that meets my criteria on the market for a quality duplex or 4-plex. Good investment properties don’t stay on the market long and you usually have to pick a property NOT on the market and approach the owner directly with a reasonable offer (that's how I acquired 3 out of my 4 rentals).

None of my investment properties have ever reported a break-in, I’m not even aware of a break-in for any of my tenant’s neighbors. It’s been 1.5 years since I’ve had a vacancy. All 4 rental properties are on 15 year fixed rates and yield a positive cash flow. Considering the cost is relatively the same, I’d rather deal with a handful of quality properties in solid locations & cherry pick quality tenants than struggle with 30 houses in Frayser or few apartment complexes in < desirable areas of Memphis. The stress and work involved would be considerably lower & the appreciation is better.

I’m not saying that my strategy is the best but it is definitely optimized for my situation. You asked about our favorite and preferred areas and I obliged with my experiences which are obviously going to be heavily biased towards my personal preferences.

[Smtchll]

38120
38117
38119
38111 (Around the U of M, but not South of it)