This or THAT?! How to choose a market to begin!

[Chantal Jones]

I've been a silent lurker for quite some time now, as I got myself together financially. I finally decided to move ahead full speed with this real estate journey, especially after attending Brandon's 90-day webinar last month. So, I'm all gung-ho and ready to get going, BUT I have a problem. I cannot for THE LIFE of me figure out where on earth I want to begin doing MFH investing with Buy & Hold. And it's hindering me from acquiring funds because I want to begin under an LLC to acquire business lines of credit. But because I don't know which state I want to begin in, I haven't created my LLC yet, thus no funds. So if I happened to come across a good deal, I'm pretty much assed out bc I have no major funds as of yet. I'm from NY, but don't want to invest here in the city as it's not the price point I wish to begin with. I want to invest in a Sub200K area right now that will put me in about a B neighborhood with working class folks who care about their surroundings/block. I want to stay away from Section 8 for now.

As for NY, I've contemplated Poughkeepsie, but I'm not too fond of how the job market/population has been looking. I noticed there was a revitalization plan on their city website, but didn't see any timeline regarding it.

I'm absolutely terrified of Newburgh - I went to visit, and I didn't step one foot out of my car. I did a drive-by for all of my comps in Newburgh. I thought I could handle that city bc I went to college in Philly, and I couldn't possibly imagine anything being worse than the hoods around Temple, but boy was I wrong!!

And then I also have a list of B'more, Albany, ATL, Philly, Pittsburgh...I'm just CONFUSED!! Right now, I'm doing some in-depth research on each city - looking at their Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, checking out the population, job market, who's landlord-friendly, etc. BUT, has anyone gone through this when they were first starting out? If so, what helped you make a final decision?? I don't want to get sucked into analysis paralysis with this.

I don't want to pick any random state, but then end up starting in a different state and have to deal with being a foreign entity. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!! :) 

[Brian Adzadi]

@Chantal Jones

First, take a deep breath, Wooohhhh-Shaaahh. Relaax...What I always ask people on the forum who ask these kind of questions is, What are your priorities when it comes to buy and hold? Is it cash-flow, appreciation, price point, distance from you, etc..

When you start listing things on order of priority then things start to fall in place. There are A,B,C, and D neighborhoods in every city. The true question is do you plan on self-managing or using a property manager? With a property manager, you can have houses in C or D-class neighborhoods let them take care of it while you are cash-flowing.

Most people will give you suggestions and opinions on what they know and are familiar with so if you truly want a suggestion I will give you a suggestion on what I know and am familiar with.

 B'more, and Philly, personally, I am not a fan of. Still have a long way to go economically. However, Pittsburgh has a lot of potential, its been listed as one of the most affordable cities in America.

I am a Brooklynite almost all my life and still work there but have made Allentown, PA my new hometown and truly, its an investors paradise. The job-market is booming, vacancy rates are at 5%, and housing is cheap. Its close enough to NYC where if you want to self-manage from Brooklyn, you can. Do your research on the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton PA and tell me what you think.