Investing in Indiana

[Nghi Le]

I've been looking at some deals in Chicago and East Chicago (Indiana), but I'm from Washington.  Have any WA locals invested there, and if so, are there any laws, processes, or just things that I should look out for that are different from how things are here?  Some questions I had in mind:

1. How bad are the income, property, and transfer taxes?  I heard Chicago's pretty bad (but just need to find good enough deals).
2. Is it better to do closings with an attorney or title/escrow company?
3. Is it a landlord-friendly area?
4. Is the market appreciating?
5. Is the population growing?

I've been looking at city-data and crimereports too, but just wanted to hear experiences from some locals here and locals there.

[Elbert D.]

how's it going @Nghi Le investing in Indiana is a smart move honest. You wouldn't be disappoint. Well maybe kinda because the deals are so scarce right now everywhere. I have a east chicago deal going on right now with excellent cash flow! I have I think two Washington/Seattle investors but I have yet to find them something because it's so much over priced stuff out or the rehab is too costly for my investors to make a decent profit. By the way chicago isn't bad. You should rethink investing in chicago. It's really maybe 4 neighborhood that are bad and a lot of in between areas and then of course there's the high end areas. But it's your choice just offering a little advice. 

1. The income of areas of Indiana depends on what area you want to invest in. Certain areas are great flips and bad rental areas and vice versa. It's the same with Chicago. But the one advantage is the Taxes. The Taxes are much cheaper in Indiana 

2. Well again....it depends. For the most part I'll say title company. In Indiana you don't need a attorney but in illlinois you do

3. Of course! I'm personally going get a rental Indiana the next time I see a deal that works for me.....although If my investors want it I'll give it to them first. 

4. Overall the market is for sure there are a lot of investors coming to Indiana to invest. Actually whenever I wholesale I tell my investors we want a complete team of guys. We have rehab crews to do rehabs for investors, we have PM for investors that want rentals and we have close relationships with realtors. It's the same for Illinois as well but Illinois taxes are very high in certain areas but you can still make good money on the right deal 

5. A lot of Illinois residents are actually going to Indiana because of cheaper taxes and a similar sized sqft house is cheaper in Indiana as well

In summary, you can't go wrong with investing in either state to be honest. If you want a list of certain areas to stay out of I could PM you those and anything else if you want.