What's YOUR Definition of a good deal?

[Ozzy Smith]

So let's start the great debate.... Is this a good deal?

If you spend 2 minutes in the forums or talk with any new investor that is the question you hear when analyzing a deal.  In the real estate world that is the question we ask our colleagues or at very least ourselves when trying to decide whether or not to buy a property.  There are only 3 answers - Yes, No, or the most often answer is IT DEPENDS!  The first two answers are cut and dry but what about it depends?  What does it depend on?  That same house can produce 10 totally different answers based on who you ask and what their strategy and comfort level is.  That is what I want to pose to the community today... what's your answer?

When I started real estate investing even just a few short years ago the game now isn't the same.  My "OLD" way of gauging if a deal was good or not isn't necessarily how I gauge it today.  Even what I was shooting for last year is tougher to come by due to a shifts in my market so I am being forced to re-evaluate my strategy and would simply like some feedback on YOUR perspective.  I'm not looking for an answer for what I should do, I am curious on what the other side sees and why.

This is not a right or wrong debate, this is simply to give me some new perspective as I try and adjust to a changing market.  Each market is different, and with different income levels success is measured differently so to level the field I want to set some criteria.  Let's have some fun with this and see what your barometer for success is.

Let's assume due diligence is done and the numbers always work out.  There's no hidden fee's, or setbacks, or vacancies (because no deal ever has any of that).  It's just a perfect world with a perfect plan and all houses sell in 90 days or they rent in a week.  There is no wholesaling (sorry to that group) this is strictly buy n hold or flip.  Simply copy and paste the following section into comments and add your answer... enjoy!  I'm looking forward to seeing your answers.

1.  What geographic market are you currently in

2.  Do you prefer FLIPS or RENTALS

3. Do you gauge success by a percentage base (ROI) or a dollar figure per deal/unit

4. How much ROI / $ per deal is your goal

5.  Are these answers for your local market only or would they be the same in all other markets as well (Remember this is in a perfect world where nothing ever goes wrong)

6.  Is real estate your only source of income and how long or how many deals have you done so far (different levels of investors have different gauges for success)