All Forum Posts by: Matt Sledge

More Advantages

* You can invest where the trends are and not be limited to your own "backyard." I'm in CA and there has been a general out-migration trend recently, so I can choose to invest in areas that are experiencing high in-migration, or business in-flow, etc

* Being able to invest in more affordable areas. Median home prices in CA are currently over $800k - not very affordable by many standards.

* Being able to invest in areas with better potential returns. that $800k house in CA may get you around $3,000-$3,200/mth rent in a good area. Those are terrible returns from a rental perspective only.

Disadvantages

* Less direct control over your property and investment. You typically need to rely on others more.

* Buying in areas that may not appreciate or be good rental areas. You may get bad advice or management. My 2 first rentals did not appreciate at all over 17 years, when I finally sold them. Even today, they would only be minimally up compared to the price I purchased them at. I should've chose the area better, but the available data was not as good as it is today, and the CoC returns were great ....until repairs and maintenance!

* Paying higher prices for construction/repair work, since you have a harder time vetting and shopping for venders.

that's all I can think of for now...