Real Estate Investor · Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2009 · 130 posts · 4 votes
How long would you say it takes to really become familiar with an area. What size of an area should you start out with?
I'm looking at a fairly large neighborhood with at least 100 houses, I am trying to document the transactions, become familiar with the feel of the area, etc. It is within 10 minutes of where I live.
Does anyone have a rating system for the quality of a neighborhood, its potential or how far low it will go? I'm thinking obvious factors: employment, income levels, etc. But how big of an impact would something like an elementary school play? Can you be too close? Do they at least guarantee some level of residency?
Real Estate Investor · OH · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
17y
Shane,
My target investing area probably has 7,500 houses and apartment buildings in it. In otherwords, it's not literally a handful of streets, but rather an entire area. It's not hard to become an expert in an area that size or even larger. It's simply a matter of getting out of the house and getting involved in the area, including looking at (inside and out) a minimum of 100 houses/buildings in the area. After a while, if someone calls you with an address, you will KNOW that houses on that block go for X dollars.
Join your local REIA and make friends with the SUCCESSFUL investors in your area. The successful investors will know everything about your area and can tell you about rental demand, political factors, the employment outlook, etc.