New investor from Taylorville, IL

[Craig Reed]

Hello BP members.  I am a new investor from central Illinois.  Taylorville is a small, Midwest town of 11,000 people that is a short 30 min drive to the state capital, Springfield (pop 115,000) and Decatur Illinois (pop 76,000) with 2 main routes leading to town.  Springfield is the largest city in central Illinois and primarily a white collar city. A large medical district, major tourism attractions and the center of state legislation.  Decatur is a blue collar town with large industrial and agricultural processing production.
Taylorville is a historic town with quaint neighborhoods, friendly citizens and great schools.  There is a newly expanding commercial and industrial development set to stimulate the local economy, but most citizens commute to the larger cities to work. Housing and taxes are cheaper, and you get to enjoy the atmosphere of small town living, with large city convenience.
Why does all this matter.....housing!  There is a broad range of housing from 80k to 500k out by the lake....oh...I forgot to mention there is a Lake Taylorville and Lake Bertinetti that has potential for new homes and some nice homes built in the 70's that need a little TLC.
I am in the process of closing on my primary residence (downsizing) and will have some cash out that we will be looking to invest into a buy and hold, or a fix and flip...not sure yet.  As luck would have it, there is a duplex for sale in my new neighborhood, across the street from our new house....quiet single family neighborhood....only duplex for blocks.  Currently getting information on that property to see how the numbers look.
Anyway....that's probably more of an into than you bargained for :)
I'm looking forward to learning, networking with all you brave and smart investors out there!