Brand new, looking for out of state opportunity in Huntsville AL

[Kate Richard]

Hey Bigger Pockets community! I'm a brand new member from South Shore MA. Looking for our first rental opportunity out of state, since the Massachusetts market is expensive and the laws are not favorable to landlords. Excited about the Huntsville, AL market and planning to take a trip to get familiar with the area in November. We have one vacation rental, but want to get into long term rentals. Not afraid of purchasing a property that needs work and open to any advice I can get! 

Would be open to opportunities in Worcester MA as well. 

One of the questions I have is how to evaluate the strength of the rental market in a specific area. For instance, there are several rentals listed in Huntsville on Zillow that look like nice homes, but aren't rented. Is that a good indication of the market or bad? What sources do people use to advertise and rent their listings in that area? 

Thanks for any help or advice sent my way! 

[Steve Rozenberg]

@Kate Richard

Hi Kate, there are a lot of variables you want to consider when starting out and buying out of your area. I commend you on not worrying about a specific location. I always teach people that buying a rental property is the same as buying a stock. It is a mathematical equation, it has nothing to do with an area or a feeling of emotion. It is purely numbers. However with that being said, the numbers tell you a story and sometimes we choose not to listen to that story or are not educating ourself enough in this environment. I know this because that was a lot of mistakes that I made when I first got involved in real estate. I made a lot of bad properties because I did not understand what the numbers were telling me and I was so emotionally charged to get the deals I bought them anyways. Which was a HUGE mistake 35 homes later and a lot of sleepless nights. The thing I would suggest is before you take a trip or look at a deal I would first define what your end goals are in life and what part real estate will play in that goal. Could be passive income at a certain number, lifestyle , wealth, legacy to pass down to children etc.. Once you have that clearly defined and know then you start looking at deals. Those deals are the strategy to get you to your end goal. Just buying a property is not a strategy and definitely not always going to get you to your end goal, especially if you do not know what that end goal is yourself. It is kind of like getting on the freeway from Boston and wanting to go to Florida and you just start driving northbound. Same principle when you are trying buy real estate and do not know where you are going. 

If I can save someone from the mental stress and sleepless nights of buying the wrong deal because they did not take the time on the front end to understand this then I have been able to help. I wish someone would have given me this advice before I made my initial purchases.

Hope this helps, good luck storming the castle 

We have a lot of people that come to us from out of state and out of county to have us help them buy real estate and have us manage if for them, but I want to be very clear that if they don't know their goals and know what is a good deal to achieve those goals then there is no way I am going to know.