New member from Toronto - still interested in SW Florida

[Andrew K.]

Hello folks.

My wife and I just joined the community here at BiggerPockets. We currently live in Toronto, Canada but we own a home in Bonita Springs, Florida. We are very excited about learning more about the investment real estate market, and we hope to acquire some rental properties in the very near future.

Naturally, we have a few "newbie" questions, and we would be very grateful to hear your thoughts. 

1. We recently attended a "free" seminar in Toronto and we registered for a $3,500 weekend course with Marco Kozlowski. We haven't yet attended the course and we're really still not sure if this is going to be worth the money and time. Has anyone taken this course from Marco recently? One of the attractions is that Marco "guarantees" the first deal, and claims to be bringing the financing (at 5%) to the table.

2. Which North American markets currently represent the best value/risk opportunity. We love Florida but some are saying that ship has sailed.

That's all for now. Thanks so much for your help and advice.

[Paul Timmins]

@Andrew K.

Welcome. The top ten areas foreign investors in vest in 6 of them are in FL, the rest Phoenix, NYC, Vegas and Honolulu.

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers). You can do this via phone till you can visit.

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses, The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

To find out about an area go to IREM.org search for ARM certified property managers. Call 5 ask them what parts of the city they like/dislike and why. Ask them what they see expenses running per category per unit. What do they see them selling for per unit, what is the market occupancy rate. What are the market rents? Ask them if they know anything coming up for sale. Great way to pick up some good info and possibly a deal.

You can also search NARPM.org for the RMP (Residential Management Professional) and MPM (Master Property Manager) certified.

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good Luck

Paul