Out Of State Investing

[John Harris]

Hello BP community
 

I Wanted to take the opportunity to see what advice anyone had to offer on investing in Out of state markets. I currently live in a hot market (the SF-Bay Area) , where finding property isn't an impossible task but just unlikely to meet ones goals just starting out  in today's market climate without High income or moving to an undesirable location.With this  also will be my First deal so I am just trying to do my Due Diligence and reach out to the masses and get an opinion . Also I have the book on Long-Distance Real Estate Investing (along with many other real estate books From referrals and Podcast mentions) which on shed light on the pros and cons of out of state investing and now would like to put it to the test, being that I have about 50k to invest and looking to starting obtaining my real estate goals. So with a brief overview, the bottom-line  to where I'd like to get input on is...

-what are your opinions about markets  such as Cleveland,OH and Memphis,TN?

-Pros and Cons on personal experiences?

[Matt Stewart]

@John Harris

I'm looking at your post from the other side of things. I'm fortunate enough to live in an area where a lot of out of state investors are finding opportunity. And so I work with a few investors who are investing in the central Ohio (Columbus) area. It's vital that you put together a team(boots on the ground) local to the area. At the risk of ruffling some feathers, Realtors are a dime a dozen in this town. But a buyer's agent who truly understands the market and can recognize a good deal when they see it instead of just wanting to earn a commission is priceless. That being said the best deals aren't coming off the MLS, which means even an excellent Realtor isn't going to be much help. I'm finding deals at 25% of ARV off market. So then the next member of your team needs to be someone who can determine how much it's going to cost you to bring that property up to full ARV and can get it done on time and on budget. Because it's not unusual to find a property for $20k that needs $100k and 6 months or more worth of work.

Bottom line, surround yourself with good people who understand the market you want to invest in.