Winning: The Real Life Game of Monopoly

Primarily because no one wanted these low-end properties and all I saw was an inexpensive way for a chance to build my portfolio. 

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Growing up, one of the board games I played as a child was Monopoly. As we navigate deeper into our Pensacola real estate investing, I'm reminded of those days around the dining room table and think how similar the Monopoly game is to real life investing.

Due to its luxurious nature, I always wanted Boardwalk & Park Place. I knew having a hotel on either of these properties would surely increase my bank roll from any visitor. Here in Pensacola, I correlate that to the high-rise condo on the beach or historic home in East Hill.

Only a lucky roll would push you through my corner rent free!

I also couldn't stay away from Mediterranean & Baltic Avenues. Primarily because no one wanted these low-end properties, but also because I thought this was an inexpensive way for a chance to build my bank from frequent visitors (plenty of places in west Pensacola fit this model).

Needless to say, I hardly won the game unless others just wanted to quit due to boredom :) In the game of real life investing, I hardly see where this is the case. My strategy for the childhood game was a slow and steady approach that required a lot of luck. This strategy didn't produce a lot of winning and comparing to investing today, I realize I learned several valuable lessons playing the game. Maybe its time to break it out again! As I thought about this correlation more, I turned once again to good ol' Google magic. I stumbled upon a site that really geeks out over the strategy of winning @ the monopoly game. Using our current strategy for buy & hold as a comparative to the game of monopoly, I can see where we are winning @ the game of real estate investing. It is not about the luxurious condo on Pensacola Beach, nor is it about the slums in West Pensacola (done correctly, both of these have their upsides). But the best ROI, winning formula lies in the middle (reference heat map below) of three houses on St. James, Tennessee, and New York and three houses on Kentucky, Indiana, & Illinois. For most of our current positions we're in that sweet spot. Our others, we're not too far from it. We buy & hold strictly sticking to several criteria using conservative #s. Using these criteria and with planned exit strategy's already in place, we're winning.

Thanks to the creators of http://www.amnesta.net/monopoly/ for putting their site together and bringing back some fond childhood memories. The below screenshot is from their site, showing a heat map of the best investment and ROI for the monopoly game.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, contact us through our website at www.palmettosunproperties.com . Ask us anything!