Why can't I pick a market?

Question

I have been looking to purchase my first investment property for almost two years now... I have made several offers on properties all over the country but have not closed. In all this time, I still can't seem to decide on a market. I find myself jumping from market to market, state to state, and just can't seem to narrow in on any one place. Grass always just seems to be greener and I end up sitting on the sideline. I want to pick a market and put my blinders on and feel confident that THIS is where I am going to focus.

How do you all decide and commit to one area? Are there tools that you use to help inform your decision? Is paying for tools such as Mashvisor worth it? Any others recommended?

Appreciate the help/discussion!

How do you all decide and commit to one area? Are there tools that you use to help inform your decision? Is paying for tools such as Mashvisor worth it? Any others recommended?

Appreciate the help/discussion!

Amir Khan · Answer

This is a great question! So here are few tips:1. Know that whichever market you choose, it will be almost impossible to check ALL the boxes.

2. Decide on 4-5 major criteria that are important to you when investing in your first REI project. For example, only buy in a market where there is job growth etc.

3. Based on these criteria, decide on one REI strategy (ex; flips, wholesale, BRRRR).

4. Then scan BP forum for favorite cities where BP investors are investing based on this strategy. Short list 5 cities.

5. Then reach out to BP investors in these 5 cities and see if they'll connect you with their local contacts (agents/brokers/contractors etc).

6. From these 5 cities - choose 1 and then fly/drive in and meet/create your team.

7. Now begin researching properties in this city (with the assistance of your team). Your team will help you focus on specific parts of city that will be more profitable for your REI strategy.

Hope that helps. DM me if you have question or want to chat..

Travis Biziorek · Answer

Alex, it seems you're having difficulty choosing a market because you don't actually know what you want yet.

Have you thought about your goals and what you're trying to accomplish with your RE investing?

What about timeline? How soon to you want to get to that goal?

I find that answer these questions will eliminate many of the markets already. And then it's about narrowing it down from there.

I went through a similar phase when I was in Michigan. We ended up investing in the Detroit market (and still do to some degree). Now I'm mostly focused on helping others invest in Detroit while I think about my next moves.

Tony Jarusook · Answer

Have you tried your local market?

Alex DeYo · Answer

Very much appreciate everyones contributions and advice! Makes a lot of sense.

Dave E. · Answer

@Alex DeYo you just decide and stick with it. Sounds like you are chasing too many different things. You have done your research, pick the market that your gut tells you is right, pick a realtor, and stick with it until you close. Period. Second guessing and constant change gets you nowhere. Your first deal doesn’t need to be a home run. Focus on a base hit. What you learn and where you go from there are limitless.

Ricardo Hidalgo · Answer

What is you preferred cash on cash return? What is your desired price point? Are you open to renovating a property or looking for turn key?

Trevor Richardson · Answer

If you are considering Reno it’s a day drive from your location. Reno is expensive but I have seen some awesome deals this year. Like the best I’ve seen in 7 years.

We operate a “investor friendly” brokerage where we just help clients buy investment properties. We do top to bottom advanced analysis for any of our clients to help them understand all the numbers.

For instance we saw a 4 plex hit today and have already completed an underwriting analysis to completely understand the investments potential. There are about 30 multifamily properties on the market in N. Nevada and we have all of them analyzed all the time. Hopefully you are working with an investment brokerage that will give you complete analysis for every property in the given market.

Alex DeYo · Answer

This is awesome. Thank you for the helpful advice! Sounds like using BP to aid in picking a market based on criteria is your recommendation? Have you tried other tools like heat maps etc.?

Alex DeYo · Answer

Appreciate the insight! Ultimately pulled out due to foundation issues and other large issues that weren't disclosed initially... so basically cold feet. These were all LTRs in low price markets. I had concerns around a large project like that out of state. Good idea though on looking up those properties now.I think I typically try to tick too many boxes. I get stuck on wanting to use a property for personal use as well (i.e vacation rental) which puts me into high price markets that don't have the best ROI. Definitely need to pick a strategy and stick to it.

Alex DeYo · Answer

Yeah, coastal California :/

Why can't I pick a market?

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