All Forum Posts by: Jason King

@Bobby Thompson - You are right that a company like Whole Foods does some market analysis before they open up a new store.  Most likely, they look at pop. density, pop. growth, income levels, etc. to make sure they align with their strategy.  However, most of these data sources, at that granular of a level, are not free.  These companies pay big money for that data.  I am following this topic, though, as this is something that I have asked about in the past but have come up mostly empty.  

@Richard Morency It depends on what specifically you are looking for. You state marketing trends, so I'm not sure what type of marketing you are referring to. You can get data showing some sales trends: avg/median price, days on market, etc. by town typically, maybe even by zip. However, if you want to get to a more granular level (sales price by style of house, # bed/bath, neighborhood, etc.) this is much harder to find. I've spent some time looking for similar data, but it seems that the MLS holds a monopoly on this data and does not like sharing it. Zillow has a decent amount of historical data that you can get, but its not the best format and there are plenty of missing data points making it difficult to graph. If you find anything or having something specific you are looking for let me know.

@Bryan McCloskey - Thanks so much for all of the information.  Something I definitely need to explore further, and the information you have shared will definitely help me out.  

@Tom Cyr - Lot's of information, thanks for sharing your hard work!

@Larry Turowski Thanks for the input!  

Hi BPers, 

I was at my local REIA meeting last night and we got on the topic of creative financing. Someone brought up a concept I had never heard of before, 7702 plan. The way it was described is this is an insurance plan that you can buy that after 6-7 years of premium payments you can borrow against it and invest, with the profits being tax-free! You can see why my ears perked up at this point. After a quick google search, it seems that there are a lot of people advocating AGAINST this type of plan, though mostly if it is being used as a retirement vehicle. I am curious, has anyone here ever heard of, or even better, have used this as a way to creatively finance any deals? I am curious to see what people have to say about this one.

@Abou C. - One interesting strategy that I have heard of is to call For Rent signs and ask if they want to sell. The though behind it is that landlords can become frustrated when dealing with vacancies and are more motivated to sell at a discount. As I'm sure you have read, you make your money when you buy, so buying at a discount is key. You can find properties on the MLS, but are less likely to find discounted properties.

You can also look up some direct mail marketing strategies specific to multi-family.  I know some of the big names in direct mail have posted a list of their favorite strategies.  Try searching the site and you should be able to find some.

@Douglas Snook @Joshua Costa 

I don't think that there are any organized meetings on Saturdays in the area, but I would be interested in meeting up with other investors to talk about our plans and how we can leverage one another if you are interested.  We could start small and spread the word.  Keep me posted on this.

Welcome Josh!

You have definitely come to the right place!  There is a lot of information you can gather here, and there are a lot of supportive members that can help you along the way.  I would build on what Anthony has already said an encourage you to make it to the investor group meetings.  It is sometimes tough for me to get out in time too, but you I would say try your best and don't be too afraid to walk in a little late.  In fact, one of the most valuable segments of the meetings are at the end where they leave time to network.  The deeper I get into real estate the more I learn that this business has a lot to do with who you know, so creating good contacts is very important.  I'd be interested to hear more about your background and what your goals are - shoot me a PM if you are interested in chatting.

Good luck!

Jason

@Hunter Perkinson  No problem!  Keep us updated, curious to see what you guys end up doing.  Feel free to reach out if you need any help with anything.