Location. Location? Location!

[Account Closed]

I have my hands in quite a few different Real Estate pots- but it seems like one thing is always the same.

"Where is it located?"

Its a Valid question but I have come to realize that it carries perhaps to much weight in the eyes of the majority of investors.

I live in Arizona and needless to say it is a competitive market. I moved here from South Dakota and many investors and property buyers I have worked with have been shocked when I tell them that in South Dakota +10% Cap rates exist in plenty for buy and hold rental properties and flip properties come available to me every week for under 50K. This got me thinking- why aren't more people doing these deals?

I moved to Arizona to expand to a 2nd market and currently operate in both markets but it is two completely different obstacles I face.

In Arizona- buyers are plentiful but finding a good deal is the difficult aspect of Wholesaling I face.

In South Dakota- Deals are plentiful but there is a massive shortage in people looking to pay for flips and cash flowing properties.

WHY?!? - Location.

I have people tell me they aren't familiar with the market and don't have the knowledge to make an informed decision. Ok- I get it- But in this business, the day you stop educating yourself and striving for more knowledge is the day somebody else passes you.

Why aren't more individuals looking to do deals away from the comfort of their home- if a property is cash flowing, makes money, and is appreciating- What's the issue.

We were all afraid to get into this business to some degree but once we start to get comfortable to many people are stuck in their comfortable bubble and won't step out to try and better themselves. I don't claim to know it all- or much at all really; but people who are serious investors looking for financial independence and a better life through Real Estate- I don't quite get it.

Would love to hear thoughts on this and why more people aren't investing in markets outside of their own. Obviously this doesn't apply to all investors but generally from what I have been seeing- this is extremely common.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

[Will Fraser]

Hey @Account Closed!  I like your question a lot.  I think there are several different answers to this question and I'll focus on one of the base psychological reasons we don't -- because we haven't heard Brandon and David talk about it on the podcast.  We haven't seen it in Paula Pant's blog and we haven't seen it on any of the "big shots" shows, so . . . it must not be safe or that good.

Group-think is a problem at time, but it is also a base survival mechanism that has helped protect us in many different ways.  In the same way that my body still craves fats and sugars always, even though a glance at my waistline shows that it is not necessary to store up quickly-accessible energy, our minds and bodies do things to protect us even at a cost of our immediate thrival, and even when that need is outlived

Thus my assertion that the primary reason that the masses don't clamor to all the locations that supposedly have a great ROI and few investors is because the lack of "publicity leaders" who invest there seems to imply that there's something wrong with the market. In reality that's not necessarily true, but it is a heuristic that we use to simplify a massively deeper issue.

Them's my thoughts.