Seeking passive income perspective in the Carolinas

[Ryan M.]

Hi folks, I'm Ryan, first time poster, new to real estate investing. I found BP a few months ago, after looking for avenues of passive income. I live with my family in the Asheville, NC area.

Here in the forums, I've seen folks like @Alex Franks counsel others to start locally, if they're new. Makes sense. I'm just wondering how local we're talking. I've met with the Asheville REIA a couple of times, talked with agents there about an affordable (sub-$80k?) buy and hold 3/2 that would rent well. They said, "Well…, it's not impossible, but..." Another local investor told me he hasn't bought anything here in the last year, and doesn't see that changing anytime soon. Not the encouragement I'm seeking, but it looks like that's the reality of the AVL market at this time.

I grew up in the Charlotte Metro area, so I like and am familiar with CLT. I also like the Greenville/Spartanburg area, for its proximity to me and its relatively lower housing costs, compared to AVL's.

So, I suppose I'm asking if you think I should also look at other regional areas, GSP, CLT, maybe Raleigh/RTP, or Knoxville/Johnson City, or do you think it's better to continue saving, continue learning about my local Asheville market, and see what comes up? Maybe I should look into other short term avenues of passive income in real estate while I wait?  I would value anyone’s opinion if you have the time to respond. Thanks very much in advance.

[Tomas Chao]

@Brian Compton I drive for dollars in Mt Holly and Belmont. I choose there because I work at the two high schools there so it is very familiar to me. Also Belmont is the hottest community in gaston county.  I actually have a map and hit a few blocks/neighborhoods each week   I then research my potential properties and send out cards to the owners. I have been very surprised by my results. I am getting just under a 10% response rate from my first mailings.  Of course not all the responses are good leads but I have gotten a few leads that I am working on   I hope this helps.