Welcome to this new series about where to invest in Kalamazoo, Michigan!
We get a lot of questions from out-of-state investors about where they should start looking for rental property in Kalamazoo. They want to know about the different areas, employers, population and so on and so forth.
We will cover several of the different neighborhoods around Kalamazoo, Michigan. This blog is going to start with the great neighborhood of Eastwood.
Why Eastwood, Kalamazoo?
The Eastwood Neighborhood is located North East of downtown Kalamazoo. It is also the neighborhood I personally invest in. I started investing in Eastwood and all my properties are currently in Eastwood. A couple things that that made it attractive to me were:
- Home prices
- Home values
- Strong rental rates (that are comparable with most areas around Kalamazoo)
- Stable tenant pool
All those things are very important when you’re looking for a rental property to make money and when you’re looking to invest in real estate. I will discuss these more later on as we discuss where to invest in Eastwood, Kalamazoo.
Inspections in Eastwood
Another attractive thing about Eastwood is the fact that it is located in Kalamazoo charter Township. Kalamazoo Township does not have an inspection program for rental properties. They do require you to register them. When you register you will pay a $100 fee and fill out a two page application. After doing this, your property is compliant for 2 years. The township does not do inspections unless the tenant is complaining about something. If the township knows the landlord isn’t taking care of something, then they will come out and do an inspection. But they don’t do them as a rule to get your property registered. This is a great benefit to investing in Eastwood, Kalamazoo. Here is some more info from the township if you are inserted in learning about their rental inspection program.
Where is Eastwood Located in Kalamazoo?
Eastwood is located northeast of downtown Kalamazoo. It is bordered by E Michigan on the South, Wallace Ave on the West, Gull Rd on the North (it does go north of Gull Road in a few areas). The border on the East runs between Nazareth and Sprinkle Rd. Here is a visual:
Eastwood Population
Eastwood has a population of approximately 6,300 to 6,400 people. This will be updated in the new 2020 census. There is about 2,500 to 2,600 households located within the boundaries of Eastwood. So that gives you an idea of the size of the area. The largest employer that’s located within the boundaries of Eastwood is going to be Borgess Hospital. The hospital is on Gull Road in the northwest corner of the Eastwood boundary.
Home Prices and Value
Because I personally have invested in Eastwood, I keep an eye on home prices here. I’ve seen prices rise over the last several years. You know the homes are still attractive because there’s still a lot of activity here. There is even a little bit of new construction going on right now.
Types of Homes
When you are looking at where to invest in Kalamazoo, Eastwood has a variety of home types to suit many investors. The closer you get to downtown, around Wallace Ave, you will find the oldest homes. In this area of Eastwood you might see homes from the early 1900s or maybe even late 1800s. As you move to the west out to Sprinkle Road the homes are going to get younger. Near Nazareth on Pristine I believe there are some really quite new homes over there. You will find the majority of the houses are going to fall somewhere between 1920 and 1970.
Where to Invest in Kalamazoo: More to Come!
With future videos I’ll be able to do more outside but today was just too windy. Keep posted for our next “Where to Invest in Kalamazoo” blog! We are happy to talk to you if you have any questions. Please reach out to us via 616-301-9450, info@accesspmgroup.com or our contact page.