New Investor in Lakeland, FL

[Timothy G Dunson]

Greetings Everyone!

My name is Graham Dunson. I'm a new investor in the Lakeland area. A little background on myself. I'm a former Marine and currently work at the embassy in Afghanistan. I've been researching and studying real estate investments for about two years and am finally ready to pull the trigger on my first deal. My plan is to buy a residential multi-family property with the VA loan in Lakeland. House hacking it for a year then acquiring more units from there. I would love any help I can get as I said I am very new and first time home buyer!

I’d love to know any information I can get but some specific stuff I’m looking for is:

Best areas to buy in

Areas to avoid

What are the average rents for Lakeland

What do most people do for work in Lakeland

What is the best investments for you 3/2, 2/2, 2/1 etc

Is there any Real Estate clubs or meetings or groups in the area?

I’m just trying to get as much information as possible for the market. I’m sure I’m missing a ton so help me out! I will be getting preapproved in about a month as I will be flying home on leave late September which is when I will start making offers. So I'm trying to start building my core 4 now. Thanks everyone! I’d love to meet any investors in the area once I arrive late September. I’d love to buy lunch and listen to you talk!