Newbie - Availability in Louisville

[Dustin Letourneau]

Afternoon everyone,

I'm new to the REI world. Have joined bigger pockets pro (wife's account) and started listening to webinars and a ton of podcasts. I'm currently working with an agent and seems that the pickings are VERY slim at the moment. That being said, I always hear that there are deals in every market all the time. Maybe it is my inexperienced but I'm just not seeing them yet. I have found a few properties that were worth looking at and making an offer (although many either sold or went pending before I could even make an offer) but I would consider them base hits and nothing more. While I'm okay with base hits for my first few, I'm just curious if maybe I'm missing the forest for the trees in this. My wife and I have probably evaluated over 100 properties in the last few weeks - netting to maybe a half dozen that seemed worth the time. With my inexperience at this point, rehabbing or even a small BRRRR makes me nervous that I may have numbers wrong and be kicking myself out of the gate.

My criteria:

- Buy and Hold Rental(s)
- Price Range: $0-$175k 
- B or C Deals - B deals in this price range seem like unicorns - don't exist.  Again, maybe I'm just not looking or evaluating properly?
- 3 Bedroom 1+ Bath
- Mainly looking in S. Louisville (PRP area) and basically all the way up to the Crestwood area (all outside of the 264 loop) + Shelbyville
- No flood zones (maybe I shouldn't care?)

Is what I'm looking for realistic? For that price range do I need to be looking harder at the C class deals instead of digging in the weeds for B's? Maybe I need to be doing more driving for dollars? I'm reading books, this site, and listening to as many resources as I can (2 hours total from and to work) - but I know none of it is more valuable than experience. I'm ready to be off the sidelines - PUT ME IN THE GAME COACH! Until then, Ill keep crunching numbers.

Thanks in advance.

[Kelly Bankes]

I second Kevin’s advice on getting on every wholesale list you can. Two of my last three deals have come from wholesalers. If you’re not sure how, call the “We buy houses numbers” you see on signs or get on postcards and tell them you want to be added to their buyer list.

You may consider widening your search criteria initially, too. It doesn’t mean you have to buy something outside your interest area, but it will let you know what is out there and give you more experience running other types of deals.

I would also recommend driving for dollars. Even if it doesn’t end up in a deal, it will help you know the neighborhood you’re most interested in very, very well and make you more confident to move forward when you have found something.