Investment strategies in current Minneapolis market

[Gavin Grady]

Hello All,

I've always been extremely interested and drawn to REI and during my journey to increase my knowledge I found BP. I have spent the last few months trying to learn as much as I can through books, podcasts, forums, etc. I am continuing to expand my overall REI education, but I have recently been narrowing my focus to better understand how these different investment strategies relate to my specific market of Minneapolis/St.Paul.

I currently work in engineering and construction project management and I also enjoy home renovation projects on my primary residence. My original plan to get into REI was to go the flipping route and do the majority of the rehab myself along with my dad who has 40+ years of carpentry/construction experience, as well as sub out some specialty trades to contractors that my dad has connections with. However, through my research I have started to lean more towards buy and hold.

Where I sit today, I believe I am still about a year out from purchasing my first investment property as I want to save more cash and have my personal debt (student and car loans) paid off before taking the next step.

In the meantime, I am looking to connect with more local investors and BP members! I feel like I have already learned a lot from reading forum posts but wanted to get more involved!

I know the current Twin Cities market is crazy with low inventory and any good investment property opportunities are going quickly (learned this first hand when I bought my current home in St. Louis Park in 2017).

My main questions are:

- What type of investment strategy are most local investors having success with in the current market?

- What cities have proven to be good markets to find deals?

- Have investors started to move to more outer ring suburbs to find deals that work?

I apologize for a lengthy first post, I appreciate any responses in advance and I look forward to connecting with all of you!

[Pavel U.]

@Gavin Grady BP is a GREAT resource to learn and ask questions. Too bad I discovered it just a few years ago and not when I started investing in 2010, but I feel like I've learned a ton and keep learning every day. With the knowledge I have today I can easily start a Property Management company. Let me answer your questions - good decision on doing buy & hold vs flips. I doubt many people will share their investment strategies, but I'm an open book because I'm very comfortable with what I have today in terms of real estate assets. My favorite properties are mix-use buildings (retail on main level and apartment(s) above); duplexes, and small commercial buildings. That all might change as I keep discovering new things pretty much every day. Areas that work for ME: South Minneapolis, but I started buying South of the River (Prior Lake, Apple Valley, Burnsville etc). Funny someone posted about "dealing with broken toilets" - in 9 years of doing this, that maybe happened once because a tenant tried to flush a toothbrush. I don't touch toilets, my contractors do and 5 minutes later tenant ended up paying for it. My advise to start is to get your team together: @John Woodrich as CPA; @Bruce Runn as a mentor (must provide good food lol); @Alyssa Strom as a great listener, and if you like kombucha even better! In all seriousness, you need 2 or 3 of each (plumber, electrician, drain cleaning, handyman, painter etc). Good luck!