All Forum Posts by: Lee Ripma

@Amby Bhagtani

I personally look for population growth in affordable markets where there is stock of multifamily properties I could potentially purchase. Checkout the ZipFinder feature in vestmap where you can choose your criteria - growth, income, median home price and use it to narrow down potential areas. One thing that is important to consider is what asset type you want and making sure it's in the market you are looking at. For example, Kansas City has a lot of small Mulitfamily while Indianapolis and Oklahoma City do not. 

@Pete Tarin

Checkout the data on vestmap.com, it allows you to search any location and get the DISCERN factors at a glance including income, crime, schools and neighborhood indicator stores. A, B, C, or D is often called subjective but it's a blend of real estate values, incomes, and deseriablility. It is fairly easy to develop a proxy for the class by looking at the DISCREN reports in VestMap. There is also a way to filter and find zip codes that might meet the class you are looking for. 

@Ali Burke

Accounting, such an incredible skill! KC is a great market for RE investing and there is a ton of growth between Lawrence and KC - the Tesla battery plant is a huge growth driver. Never did the SFH thing but love small multi!

@Jeff G.

If you only look at one meteric, look at Median household income. Checkout DISCERN reports on VestMap.com, this is exactly what you are looking for! 

@Jeannie G

UGH! All of the inventory I have seen that these TK companies have is in C- or worse areas! Vet the location first and the property second! 

@Andrea Lauritzen

I start off investing out of state in KC and I'm a huge fan. I talk about it on my podcast. I do think that the B or better zip codes area a great place to start. Feel free to checkout the listings and resources we have on our website. 

@David Matthew

Great thread you have going here! 

I'll jump in with my two cents. I had a place in Mammoth Lakes, CA. I am guessing your rentals are probably in Big Bear. I sold out of Mammoth because I had already captured a lot of appreciation (equity) and I saw the writing on the wall with the fires an insurance premium increases. After I sold the insurance premium went up 5x. I did a 1031 exchange and purchased a 19 unit in Overland Park, KS. 

It sounds like you really want to sell the mountain houses and with each of them you could easily pickup a 4-8 unit in the KC metro. I would personally do that because I actually did do that. Maybe sell the mountain houses and keep the other two that way you are keeping your foot in the door with appreciation but getting rid of the hassle of the mountain houses. 

Regardless of what you do you're in a great position with equity. I am fond of saying when you have equity you have options. You have options! 

@Yippi Jim

This area can be sold to either owner-occupants or to investors seeking cash flowing rentals. I don't know the exact location of your rental. A quick look at comps shows that tenant-occupied properties are selling at 65-110k while some sold to owner occupants are selling at up to 200k in this zip code. There is actually great demand in this area so I wouldn't write it off as a bad area at all! The nice thing about selling it as a rental is you can cash flow until close and you won't need to do updates that owner occupants are expecting. I am putting a link to actual comps below so you can see how your property stacks up. With your current rent I'd guess your exit is probably limited to 110k if sold with a tenant in place. If you could get significantly more than that selling it to an owner occupant consider that. 

https://portal.onehome.com/en-US/share/1009945E65373

I hope this helps! 

@Yu Jin Song

I do not specifically know the market but I use Vestmap's zipfinder to look for areas I would invest in nationwide. See the map below for what zip codes I would initially be interested in. Then I run reports on exact locations, these can be for any location, on or off market. I would for sure checkout the zip codes 45439 and 45409 based on my preliminary look if you want to be in the heart of the city but don't discount the suburbs especially if you are looking to invest in SFH.

As others have mentioned a house/apartment built in 1900, 1950, and after 1980 are very different in terms of capital expenses required. If I go into any market I'm ideally buying 1980 or newer. If I'm buying old then that it becomes very important to understand capital expenses for upgrading plumbing, electrical, fixing foundations, etc and understanding the properties current condition. 

I love out of state investing, just be careful with the location and the asset you buy! 

@Colby Wartman This is not tax or legal advice but my opinion as a person who qualifies as a real estate tax professional. 

1. I use DIY cost segregation algorithm-based studies. Feel free to contact me for my friends and family discount code. 

2. YES! I figure I'll get losses of 20-30% of the purchase price as a general rule. I use 25% of the purchase price for my own tax planning. 

3. I do #1 using DIY cost seg. 

I love cost segs!