Need Out of State Market Analysis Spreadsheet Checklist Please

[Clifford Hand]

I have been all through this site multiple times and, forgive me if I somehow have missed it, have been unable to find a spreadsheet that could be considered to meet the following (or most of) elements.  I, like a lot of others these days, feel forced to look outside of my own market for reasonable investment opportunities.   I completely get that I need to understand the market that I'm considering before even considering the viability of the property itself.  I've also read a lot about all of the criteria that I should evaluate and some sample locations of where some of that data could be found.  My initial concern is that I wouldn't necessarily know what data to capture or evaluate.  Secondly, I wouldn't know how to understand it.  Finally, I felt sure that I should be able to give more weighting to some data points, especially if others came in less than desirable.

I have zero issue with going out and gathering every piece of data that I need to make an informed decision as well as learn along the way.  However, what I would imagine must exist somewhere in our community is an Excel spreadsheet that helps in this area.  In my 'perfect world' mind, I would be able to open that workbook and begin evaluating any given market because; 

a) First and foremost, it would be very user friendly 

b) It would be heavily automated through the use of formulas and/or macros that would provide easy to follow and understand prompts and solutions.

c) Would be designed such that it would accept user entered data that, either as you went long or by the time you reached the end, you would receive flags of some sort that would provide a status of that market as a potential investment market (such as 'You're golden here!', 'You probably should consider other markets.", "So far, you're on the right track with this.", etc.).

d) Would tell you exactly what sources, ideally websites with current data, to use to gather each data element and how to use it.

e) Ideally, some sites/data sources would be built into this workbook so with little effort (i.e., drop down menus, etc.), data could be auto loaded for the market you're researching.

I am aware that, after looking at dozens of spreadsheets not only on this but also other sites, that there exist countless analysis spreadsheets that, for the most part, address a) and b) above but not the rest.

If this isn't something that any of our BP members are aware of, I also wouldn't mind contributing to the development of one to whatever extent I'm able.  I believe there are enough potential users of this workbook to make it a worthwhile effort.  My Excel and database skills are decent, having depended on them for most of my career.  I also tend to have time available to commit to something like this. What would be needed would be others with similar skills, but even more so investors with actual understanding of the data elements that could help show how they should be used most effectively.

Alright then, there you have it.  My first and only post to date and I look forward to your feedback.

Thanx ~