South Bend Investing, Buy and Hold??

[Julian Pilate-Hutcherson]

In David Greene's "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing", to exemplify different reasons to invest in one market vs. another, David brings about the pros (ex. low price points) and cons of investing in rental property in South Bend, IN (ex. high CapEx due to severe weather and college student partying). As a graduate of U of Notre Dame, I always wondered how profitable it would be to invest in multifamily units within campus reach.

Has any investors on BP found success in this area, and how has your experience been?

[John Warren]

@Julian Pilate-Hutcherson I purchased a 20 unit with a partner here on BP in South Bend in 2016. It has been very profitable, but we are marketing to the lower end of the working class, not students. I have found the student rental market to be insanely difficult/impossible to get into as an out of state guy. The local realtors that market this stuff are all into it themselves, and you will probably find that the "deals" they are giving you are not good ones. In addition, I have not been able to replicate this first purchase, and consider it a bit of a lucky buy. 

There are some other issues to consider when investing in a secondary or tertiary market. Property management, contractors, realtors, etc are all really tough to find compared to when you are investing in a primary market (ask me how I know lol). I have switched my focus away from cheap properties back to the Chicago metro area where I began investing. The renter pool is so much better here, and the real estate professionals and contractors are much more plentiful which allows you to be in the drivers seat a bit more.