All Forum Posts by: Adrien C.

 I don't think it's fair to say wholesalers prey off certain people. Plenty of end buying investors purchase properties off market and are trying to get the best deal possible. I know several legit wholesalers and several scammy investors. It's more the person and not the strategy. 

They tend to work better in C/D areas. Be careful of the code enforcers pretending to be sellers and trapping you at a fake showing. 

@Fernando Galvan Hi- hope you're doing well. Your tenants on Kentucky suck at cutting their grass. LOL. We just got $1450 across the street. Rents are stupid right now but we're getting tons of inquiries and able to find solid tenants. We need IL to fix their mess so people will stop crossing the border. 

Hi and welcome to BP. Both states have tons of great markets to invest in. You really can't go wrong. Indiana is super landlord friendly and taxes are pretty cheap. Your biggest issue is finding a good team. Someone that understands the different areas and can help set you up for long term success. You don't want to connect with someone who only cares about making a quick buck selling you a dump on a garbage street in a D neighborhood.  Do a thorough vetting as lots of people on BP seem educated but really regurgitate what they've read. Plenty of good folks here too so make a ton of calls and go with someone you're comfortable with. People are more important than a particular city.

My brokerage is still seeing stupid offers on houses in NW Indiana. Appraisers are starting to fight back though. 2 months ago it seemed like everything appraised. Now they are basically giving list price and none of the stupid way over offers. There's only 505 houses on the market in Lake county which has a population of over 400K. Drive around Crown Point, Winfield, south Dyer, Cedar Lake, and St John and the amount of new construction is crazy. As long as rates stay low and inventory stays low, we'll be in this stupidness for some time.

Hi- I also invest in NWI and have really enjoyed this market. I like being close to chicago for good jobs but in a landlord friendly state. 

It's easy to say that when you're in the midwest and prices are relatively cheap. When you're in CA and a starter home is $450K which rents for $1800, many find their money gets a better ROI investing OOS. I work with dozens of investors on both coasts who are coming inland for deals with higher returns.

Plenty of options in the US that are landlord friendly. Get ready for a dozen people to tell you how awesome their city is. LOL. All of the states you mentioned have great cities to build a portfolio. Too many people get caught up in trying to find the best market and never do anything. Analysis paralysis. Pick a market and go. Find a place that you want to visit occasionally.  For example, my market is 30-45 minutes outside of Chicago. So if one wants to explore and visit Chicago often, buy here. That way you can turn your vacation into a business trip while checking out your properties. 

I think it's more important for you to find a good team wherever you invest. You can buy a rental in the "Best" market in the US and it can still be a turd if you purchased a dump in a bad part of town or have a bad property manager. Finding a good property manager is top followed by an agent or two that can help you find what you want. 

I would focus on finding the right people first. Don't get caught up in the BP theology of only buying homes with specific specs because some of those specs aren't common in older midwest areas but there's plenty of inventory that makes a good rental, rents fast, and is easy to sell when the time is needed. If I suggested anything, I would look for houses that have minimal cap-ex needed. Between material prices and labor prices skyrocketing like dogecoin, it's better to buy something that doesn't need major work. 

With your price range, you should be able to find plenty of houses in A/B neighborhoods that are probably pulling in more rent than you mentioned. That's why your team is more valuable. If you have a bad team, owning a 3/2 1500sqft home with 2 car garage meets BP standards, but it still sucks. Your team is what makes the rental $$$ for you. 

i owned several rentals while i rented myself. Fellow local inventors would tease me about it. But for me, i wanted a specific features in a personal house which we couldn't find so we ended up building. Owning your own house doesn't move you up the ladder to start buying rentals. One of my larger rental owners that we manage for rents in Chicago. Renting gives you flexibility to do what you want. Plus in your market with higher price points, your down payment on a personal house might be 2-3 down payments on rentals. If you have a family with kids and want to settle for school and such, then buying might make more sense.