Realistic Buying Criteria - Does it Hold?

[Kevin Shirley]

Hey BP! I am newer to the Real Estate Market and have a couple questions for everyone. I have heard through different podcast, forums, books, and other investors what point you should be buying at. Of course this will depend on the market you are in, but I wanted to hear what BP thoughts are. What is everyone buying at in their market? I understand at the end of the day, it all comes down to the numbers and am a huge numbers guy myself but have found that certain investors have almost unrealistic expectations for their buying criteria. Has anyone else struggled to find deals due to these expectations?

For example, I have heard investors say you should be buying at 65% of ARV. How realistic is this? Does this hold for SF and MF? Will you change your buying criteria based on your investment strategy? I have struggled to find deals at these rates on a consistent basis.

Since I have joined the BP and began my career in the RE Market, I have found that most deals specifically in the Philly Market (Where I am located) are selling for 70-72%. Most of the deals I have come across, still seem to have value even at that purchase point, am I miscalculating this value? Additionally, the increase influx of investors from New York seem to be pushing prices even higher, which has not helped.

I guess my question for BP is what can an investor truly expect to buy at? What are realistic buying criteria? How can i analyze deals better?