Montana - Investment Locations

[Heidi Goehri]

My partner and I live in Spokane, WA and are having a hard time finding great deals with the market around here. We're still actively looking, but we are also looking outside the box into other areas. Since my mom's side of the family is from Montana, I started looking at some areas over there and found what appear to be some great deals. If you have any insights into the current markets, I'd love to start building some connections and insider knowledge. We're going to drive over in a couple weeks during my spring break to check out some of the areas we've looked into. Here are our current thoughts: 

-hard to find deals: Missoula, Bozeman, Kalispell/Whitefish

Areas we've seen that appear to have good deals we'd love more insight: 

-Butte/Anaconda: Some homes we've seen here look like they would cash flow. What are current vacancy rates? Do people commute often between the two cities (or from Deer Lodge)? Are you seeing an increase in migration from bigger cities/states like we've seen in Spokane? Outside of mining, what other economic factors are there? 

-Helena: I don't know a lot about Helena, but it's within driving distance of Spokane and appeared to have reasonably priced homes. Any/all insights are welcome!

-Great Falls: This one is a little far distance wise for a weekend commute to look at houses. But I work in the schools, so this might still be a viable location to drive over in the summer months.

I'm currently trying to get a couple houses or multi-families to start building a portfolio. I'd love to find some within driving distance of Spokane so I can be more involved as I learn about the investment process. I would definitely have a property manager deal with day to day details, but I want to be able to do some visits to the towns to get a feel for neighborhoods, etc. 

Thanks for your help!