New out of state investor from Washington state

[Alex Weisberg]

Hello. My name is Alex and I'm 27. I'm from the Puget Sound area of Washington and I'm looking to get started investing out of state. I've mostly been browsing the midwest and and parts of the south, particularly Chicago, Ohio, Milwaukee, Atlanta, etc. If anyone has any experience getting started in those markets I would be very interested in speaking with you. If you've had success somewhere else I'd also be interested in hearing about that. I'm not particularly set on location at this point.

Thanks. I'm looking forward to making some great connections here.

[Paige Kelsey]

Hi Alex, well- I did the same thing. I invested in Dayton Ohio. Why Dayton, well ...........the numbers Alex!! I actually went out to see the homes first. Turn key rentals met the management team and all seemed great. Most of the rentals were section 8 so  as an example I picked up a sfh for 25k and it rented out for 700 a month. All was well and good until the management fell apart and I went too fast. I picked up 13 doors without giving myself time with the management. Soo accounting was off, checks were late. He didnt evict in a timely way and suddenly my profit slipped into a loss on some of the units. We as an example, evicted a tenant. The management company left the unit unlocked and was not even sure the tenant had left until 3 days later. The fact is that tenants left it a mess. But... as a former flipper I had an idea that would cost maaaayyyybbbee 2k to get it back rent ready. The management company wanted 13k. Needless to say, I switched to a new management company now and all is well in the world. Bottom line is that it is better to go slow than to go fast especially if you are not from wherever it is that you decide to invest.  My thinking for Dayton is shoot even if I really mess this up, I was only out less than 20k per door. In contrast if I miss the numbers here in Vancouver, my initial investment is going to be at least 10x what I paid for a Dayton home.   Hope this helps!

All the best and welcome to BP!

Paige