Getting Started in a Small Town

[Justin Porco]

Hello all,

I have been reading and learning about real estate for the past year, I am now ready to make the jump! Yes, finally ready to jump into something instead of sit back and watch life go by. The reason I am starting this discussion today is many people I have listened to on podcasts, or read strategies on in books have always been from larger metro areas.

I live in a small area of about 20,000 (Northern West Virginia) but am only about 40 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. I would like to start working deals in my area to gain experience before jumping into the Pittsburgh metro, but am curious what would be the best way to break into a smaller market. Do the same strategies hold up in small markets that work in some large markets? I have built out a list to order that contains 800 address of property owners with 30-100% equity in my county. I am hoping to find distressed sellers or sellers that are looking to move or get rid of their properties.

My goal is to strike some seller financed deals, as I do not have much capital to work with unfortunately. I would like to wholesale the right deals but spoke with a local investor and he said that it's extremely hard to wholesale in our market. 

Any tips, thoughts, information is all appreciated! I thank you for the time in reading this and look forward to talking with you all!

[Jerad Casto]

I would suggest driving for dollars instead of buying a list. If you are low on funds, you are probably going to be mailing the letters yourself. Am I correct? Use that time and money to walk and/or drive your target neighborhoods. Meet the people and hand out business cards. You can get 500 cards made for less than $10. Nothing fancy, just your name, number and email. You don't need a company name and logo. Just use a clip art of a house or something that relates. Post on Craigslist and the Facebook real estate pages in your area that you would like the opportunity to purchase homes in your area.