Finding my First Out of State Deal

[Brendon Everswick]

BiggerPockets, 

So I have spent the last several months scouring the forums, listening to the podcoasts and currently have read 3 books here on Real Estate Investing(The book on Rental Property Investing, Set for Life, and Long Distance Real Estate Investing.  I plan to continue educating myself but ready to pull the trigger and move forward on my first deal.  I currently live in Laguna Niguel Ca, and having difficulty finding local properties that will work/cashflow.  Which is why I've really enjoyed David Greene's new book on out of state investing.  I am not interested in flipping homes and mostly interested in Buy and Hold Rental Property Investing.  Current Markets I'm interested in are (Austin, Kalispell Montana, Indiana, Memphis, Ohio).  I am in the process of finding a Investor Friendly Real Estate Agent, Property Manage & Contractor in these areas).  Any of the more experienced investors have thoughts on any of these particular areas being a good start for a new investor?

I also hope like the idea of House Hacking with a duplex, triplex, quad in Austin and or Montana.  Austin being close to family and Montana just being a place I love to be.  Look forward to any thoughts/advice.

Brendon

[Joel O'Leary]

Hey Brendon,

Good work. Keep learning and reading and don’t stop.

Might be time to start making some phone calls into the areas you want to invest. Make contact with some local agents and prop managers. Find them, and ask them 100 questions. Get to know the good areas, bad areas, new developments, upcoming city changes, what type of people like to live where, etc. Local knowledge is key.

Good luck!