Choosing a market

[Kim Handelman]

I'm starting out. I know I want to buy and hold and I know I can't manage the properties myself. Because I would like to hire a management company, I would like to start with apartment complexes. I live in CT on the shoreline and am finding it hard to find anything that will cash flow when I factor in the management fees. My question is, I know I need to research out of state markets and I've read a lot on how to do the research once I find a market but everything I've read assumes I have some sort of clue where to start. I've heard the "Mid-West" cash flows well but that's a very very large area! Any way to narrow it down? I'm hoping to choose 3 or 4 areas to do some deep research before I begin to seriously look at properties. 

[Kim Handelman]

@Darron Stewart 136 Sperry need some major repairs and is a Freddie Mac/Homesteps First Look property so you must be owner occupant to buy. Getting a property to cash flow in Guilford is a mighty difficult task! That said I know being an out of town investor can be difficult!

[Kim Handelman]

@Jeremy Hauben  As for the Coliseum project, a good friend of mine is working on the residential plans. I'm not sure this is a good thing for RE investors. That would be 200 prospective tenants going to brand new units which would be hard to compete with. On the other hand. With that area gentrifying units bought now could end up being a gold mine. Thoughts?

[Joe Fairless]

@Kim Handelman & @Jeremy B. - my pleasure, I wish I had that info when I was first looking at properties out of market - instead it was trial and error. Hopefully this helps you save some time!

[Brant Richardson]

@Kim Halverson , @Kim Handelman 

I am an out of state investor from California working in the Kansas City area.  Johnson County is expensive (like Orange County as mentioned above).  You will find much better rent to purchase ratios in Jackson county on the MO side of KC.  You need to be more careful to get into the good areas and schools but its worth it. 

  I have a awesome contact over there who helps me buy distressed properties and runs a property management company.  Shoot me a message and I will tell you about how he has it set up, it gives the out of state investor a lot of security.

[Ramon Jenkins]

I would suggest Ohio, Kansas, and Indiana

Good luck moving forward with investing

[Robert Decraene]

Joe F - Thank you for this comprehensive list! I'm just starting out myself and this will be very helpful as I start choosing a few markets of interest.