Researching my Local Market

[Owen Mitchell]

I moved to Jacksonville NC when I was a teenager and stayed until I graduated college at 21. I didn’t drive around much but when I did downtown area always looked a bit abandoned, nothing there but the courthouse, lawyers, and bail bondsmen. 
At least that’s what I thought...I decided to go Driving for Dollars downtown. There’s a Bay close by so much to my surprise I saw a lot of properties that looked liked it belonged on the beach and much more looked newly renovated. I saw new businesses a coffee & pastry cafe, a bridal bar, and a Environmental Learning Center. It looks like the area is up-and-coming. Saw quite few potential properties that could be renovated. To find out more about the area I went on the city website. To find the plans for the city. Ended up finding archive videos of past town hall meetings and the schedule for future meetings. I hope those help me out. Any suggestions to help me find out more about the area I just looked at or other resources I can use to help analyze my market?

Thanks a lot and I’ll appreciate any feed back!

[Andrea Weule]

Contracts on getting in the car and driving. Taking action is huge when starting out. I also recommend connecting with other investors in the area. Search your area here on Bigger Pockets and google REI clubs in your area. Start making connections. You can also look for people in the area that say " We Buy Houses" and start making calls. The more people you talk to and the better info you can gather on what's a good area, numbers, deals, team members etc.