Anyone travel to scope out a prospective city?

[Kim Eastman]

We’re planning on purchasing our first property this year. We were thinking it would be beneficial if we took a couple weekend trips to check out some prospective cities. Has anyone else done this and do you have any recommendations for strategies to get a good understanding of the areas and any improvements occurring? Should we meet with real estate agents or maybe property managers or is that premature? TIA

[Daniel A.]

Hello Kim,

While you can find out quite a bit of information online nowadays, it's always great to check out where you're going to invest. Not to mention, it's a great reason to travel.

I had searched for a lot of properties in a town in Texas of which I had never even heard. I had a friend down there and that was the extent of it. He would immediately reject certain areas and recommend others, but it never really hit home for me until I actually visited the town. I saw most of the areas that he said were passable were still in a part of town that I otherwise wouldn't desire to invest in. Once I had the time to see properties and to see the different parts of the city, it quickly became apparent to me which properties were worth investigating.

My price point wasn't necessarily guiding me to the wealthier parts of the city, but nonetheless there were options. I naively went into contract on a couple of properties that I ultimately backed out on. Those were the ones that caught my eye prior to visiting the city. When I finally did visit, I had just entered into contract on a duplex. Upon seeing the duplex and the part of the city it was in, I was somewhat disheartened. But as the inspector arrived and started his work I happened upon a triplex across town. I paid the inspector, let him get to work and headed over to the triplex. It was three minutes from the downtown business district and was at a great price. Yes, it needed a good deal of renovation work, but the difference in price from that of the duplex was enough for me to, yet again, back out of the duplex and enter into contract on the triplex, which I ultimately purchased.

I feel bad for having my agent work up contracts on three separate properties before finally settling on the fourth, but that's part of the business. I feel even worse for getting the seller's hopes up. But what I learned from this experience is that, for me at least, I feel a lot more comfortable seeing the city for myself. My judgments on the areas differ from those of my friend, as I am sure they would differ from those of an agent who didn't know I existed before he received an email or a phone call from me.

As for proactive steps … I am sure there are agents who would be happy to show you around. I am sure you can reach out to some investors in that city. But sometimes, seeing how the area is landscaped is enough to give you an impression.

People invest in properties in cities they've never been to before and do quite well, but I will always prefer to visit the city myself. Buying a house or acquiring a rental property is a big investment. Why not take the time to feel confident in that decision?