Narrow market, or spread thinner

[Brendan Chase]

I’ve had some marginal success buying a couple of units in my local market in mid coast Maine, but see better deals in different towns throughout the state. My question is whether I should pick one market and pursue that - ideally using one property manager, agent, etc, or whether folks think it’s just as easy to buy a couple units in one market, the a few in another market and be just as successful? I still want to keep all my units within the state of Maine, just wondering of the hassle of many towns versus just one town.

Thanks!

[Ed Emmons]

@Bob Langworthy makes a good point. You need to know your goals. I would suggest setting goals in terms of activity rather than a number. As an example, you may want to volunteer full time or spend with family. Just to do that, you need to replace your current income or at least cover all your expenses. If you want to vacation, figure the cost of that. Once you determine what you want to do or the “why” for making the money you can work back to determine how many units you need. You can easily support yourself and have extra in central Maine. You hear many talking about getting 1000’s of units or having millions coming in, which is fine and doable in larger markets. However, there is an old proverb that says a lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver itself. In other words there is no end to the rat race if you just pursue numbers. Once you make a million you want 2 and so forth. It becomes nothing more than bragging rights and forces you to keep investing to build bigger or pay lots of tax. Try to do what will bring the most joy and fulfillment in life rather than the biggest bank account.