What does it mean to know an area?

[Aaron Humerickhouse]

Every podcast I listen to and every successful person that I read a blog of states "know the area you're investing in".  My question would be, what all is there to know?

- Crime rates

- Property Evaluations and Grades

- Future City Plans

- Schools

- Jobs

- Growth

[Jonathan Orr]

@Aaron Humerickhouse I think you are on the right track.  I think you can get more specific on property evaluations, such as specific pricing on a per sq ft basis, how long properties are on the market, do they usually go above asking, etc...

I would also include some more about the jobs.  Such as median income, major employers in the area, average age of individuals in the area.

There are a ton of things each person looks at when evaluating an area.  I guess it really is finding the blend you like and what matters to you the most so when you purchase or sell a property you can use those as knowledge when dealing with others in the industry such as lenders, property managers, investors...

I will say if I had a top 5 for what I look at in areas is 

1)Median income

2)jobs in the area (major employers)

3)population and changes year of year, 

4)future city plans,

5)competing hotels and apartments 

Those are my five but mine may differ than others because my focus is in hotel development.

Hope this helps.