All Forum Posts by: Donato Callahan

 Sam, 

I own nearly 400 units in Texas commercial multifamily and would be happy to help. One of the key things I look at when I'm analyzing a market or a new deal is development progress in that area. 

For example, I'm under contract on a deal in San Antonio right now and use this build permit heat map to see where other people are doing construction and renovation projects. 

The result is that I avoid buying in areas where everyone is already focusing and find the hidden gem spots. 

 Miguel - choosing the right location and finding the best deals there is crucial. I've looked at many markets in many states and the best advice I can give you is to do your homework. 

Here's an area in Cincinnati, Ohio I found using BrightInvestor a while back. This is a crime heatmap layered with on-market, single family houses that have an Absentee Owner with High Equity. 

When you dive deeper, this area also has great schools and growing income AND growing rents. 

So overall - don't just choose a state. Choose a neighborhood, in a zip code, in a market so you can turbocharge your success. 

I may go against the grain here and say that timing and location are the biggest factors in real estate. You're very wise for wanting to invest OOS and I see a lot of folks looking to Ohio for the answers. For example, I look at job growth to make sure the city I buy in has the right type of jobs that aren't going away anytime soon. Cleveland has grown by about 7.5% over the past 10 years so it doesn't quite meet my criteria of 10% over 10 years; however, it's also a more stable market. 

Then, I also bounce over to Ohio State University in Columbus to look at potential deals. Here, I check the local crime map on BrightInvestor and see that most of the crime is on the east side of campus and the few, off-market multifamilies with high equity and absentee owners are on the northeast side of campus. I'll use this to find a deal the works for my goals while avoiding the risk of high crime. 

Overall, highly support you going towards OOS investing and there are many markets and sub markets that may work for you. Just make sure you do your homework so you get a cash-flowing rental putting money in your pocket and not a property that stresses you out to the breaking point. 

I'm a fan of Rochester. 2 Bedroom rent growth has exploded by 32% over the past few years. At the same time, the population has been relatively stable but taken a big jump in the past few years as well. Then, income is up almost 30% over the past decade. 

That's a lot to love about the market. 

I like Greensboro, NC due to all the development happening there. I recommend checking out the population, job growth, rents, crime, and look at some local deals to dive deeper. 

Here's a quick look at a development heatmap for the city. I'm checking out the local rent growth next!

Piggy backing off Min, I definitely recommend looking at employment. My rule of thumb is 10% growth in 10 years in industries like healthcare, education, professional & business services, and government. 

Cleveland grew about 7% over the past 10 years but it's education sector grew by almost 14% overall. Things like this will help you choose if a market is right for you! 

I typically like to focus on the areas that are seeing population growth within a market because increasing population = increasing area investment = more desirable and valuable property over time. 

I also recommend staying away from areas that are losing population; so, avoiding these red zip codes is what I'd do to start. So, this is zip code 33314 which has a growing population and close proximity to parks, restaurants, and cafes. I'd probably start looking there. 

You should probably look at a resource like BrightInvestor. For example, I look at income growth in a market to see if folks are able to afford growing rents. It gives me an idea of how much room I have. In Austin, I can see that income has grown over 32% in the past decade. This helps me choose which areas I want to buy in because I can raise rents without fear of pricing people out. 

Personally, I'm impressed with the local rent growth here - especially for 3-Bedroom rentals. Rents have grown almost 20% in the past few years with the highest rents in the northeast side of the city. I'd be looking for deals over there. 

Looking at the map, crime around OSU seems to increase as you go east. I pulled some off market multifamilies too and found a few off-market deals around OSU with Absentee Owners & High Equity who may be looking to sell. I'd recommend showing this to a local PM or using this to narrow in on certain areas to avoid risk of crime damaging your property.