Explaining The Plan

[Trevor Ewen]

When you're young, and when you're starting out, it is so hard to talk about real estate with people who are not investors.

When I want to research a new city, I usually ask a friend who is from the area. They usually have good 'local' knowledge, which would be hard to acquire using outside sources. For instance, I recently asked a friend about where she is from in St. Louis. I get a bad reaction if I say: "Hey, I am interested in St. Louis, because I am interested in investing there." Instead I usually say something along the lines of: "I have friends who have thought about moving there, any recommendations?"

The natural assumption is that my wife and I have bought into some hype machine without knowing anything. It's as if we went to a timeshare sales pitch last night, and just bought 4 units. In reality, we are actually looking at rent / value data, and looking buy for value and cash-flow in the midwest and Sun Belt. Many folks don't think like investors, they just think about their childhood in the area, and immediately try to talk you out of it. This is not helpful, and usually keeps from revealing my motive, which is ultimately disappointing.

Any stories or advice in this vein?