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Updated over 6 years ago on . Most recent reply

User Stats

36
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12
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Jared G.
  • Washington, DC
12
Votes |
36
Posts

How do you research? What constitutes "good" stats?

Jared G.
  • Washington, DC
Posted

I realize this is a very beginner question, but surprisingly I haven't been able to find a good answer with the guides and videos.

What actually constitutes good stats on a property? Every podcast story seems to feature investors who START with "I found this great property..." - but how do they evualute what's "great"? The guides here do a thorough job of defining the terms and strategies, but what about the numbers? What are "good" numbers for a beginner? Take Baltimore, MD for example. What's a "good" neighborhood there? What's too expensive (this one's probably easy)? Which areas are very affordable for the WRONG reasons? Which are up and coming and good for a first timer? Right now, the listings are like Greek to me. I know the definitions of things, but not if those values are good or not.

I'd just love an example of what, specifically, would be the numbers on a property that an average first-timer (buy and hold, rent out the rooms) should be looking for?

The best analogy I can think of is asking someone to put together a great baseball team and defining the terms average, home runs, and RBI but without any context of what typical numbers are. Sure, you could go with the players with the highest stats possible - but they won't be affordable. Or you could go for the cheapest players on the market, but their stats won't be good. I just want the housing equivalent of "good all around" stats for a given neighborhood so I can have a starting point and continue my research from there. What constitutes a great find? What qualifies as a hard pass? It's been difficult for me to put information together without context. And this is after reading and listening to tons of material.

Thanks all! I appreciate the help, I know it's out of your way.

Most Popular Reply

User Stats

30
Posts
17
Votes
Rich McElaney
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Carolina Beach, NC
17
Votes |
30
Posts
Rich McElaney
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Carolina Beach, NC
Replied

@Jared G.  Like you, I’m new to the investment world and there’s so much information available it makes my head spin. I’m a data junkie and love to learn but there comes a point where you have to take definitive action to add depth to your understanding.

For me, one action step has been to learn where the experienced investors are and connect with them to speed up my understanding. I have found that the people in the meetup groups I’ve been to are generous with their time and knowledge.  As @Ned Carey mentioned above, he’s provided me a front row seat to understand the deals he’s involved with and how he goes about putting them together. While the studying I’ve done helps me understand the concepts he’s talking about (2% and 70% rules among others), being on the scene to see things in the real world is invaluable.   So Google “real estate meet ups Baltimore” , pick several and go network.

In addition to defining your strategy/focus as Ned mentions above, another action step is to lay out the steps you need to complete (preferably in priority order) to set yourself up for a faster ramp up in your area of focus. Items like forming an LLC, getting a logo and a website, business cards, finding people you can work with (contractors, lenders, real estate agents, real estate attorneys) to support your efforts etc.

The bottom line is this stuff takes time - so be prepared to give your patience a workout!

@Ned Carey

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