All Forum Posts by: Mason V.

I will be doing Wholesaling to begin with as a way of building my marketing and networking skills. My end plan is to do buy and hold.

I am not thinking of going too far from Portland at this time. Even Seattle is a bit far for me. The reason I said Seattle and Detroit is because people likely have never heard of Ione, Waldport or any of the other small towns of Oregon and Washington.

As for management, that’s why they made management companies. I already know I don’t have the patients for it. I’ve already got three companies I have been looking into for Portland and the Columbia gorge.

I would assume realtors would have much of the info I need correct?

What about getting caught up on market size? I am sort of hesitant of looking into smaller markets since I may not be able to find any buyers or renters.

This is one area I seem to be getting held up on. I have found many things on how to analyze properties but almost nothing on markets. Obviously bigger markers would be better for the amount of possible deals. On the other hand though, smaller markets will be cheaper. For example, I have noticed the Plexes in Portland seem to be roughly $100k per unit while in more rural areas of Oregon you can find plexes for around $70k per unit. Analyst of this sort is fairly easy but what I need help on is the analyst of markets that are fairly similar. For instance, Seattle and Detroit are close to the same size. But I am guessing that Seattle would be the better market. As far as I know Seattle is not having the same economic difficulties as Detroit.

So what bits of information should I be looking for when analyzing a market?

Thus far this is what I am assuming I need:
Crime rate
Major industries/companies
Demographics
Proximity to other cities
Quality of the schools
Taxes
Predominate real estate type like ownership/SFH or APT rentals/mobile home parks

What else should I be concerned with?

I much prefer a road map when starting out. Like exercising, if you don’t know what to do you can quickly become discouraged and quit. In my mind a good plan must layout direct goals with ideas on how to accomplish the goals and where to obtain additional information. A plan that does not allow for customization only works for a few people and will fall apart more easily.

Essentially, inference to a road trip, I like knowing that to go from Seattle ($2k net worth) to NYC ($1m net worth) I have to make various stops. From Seattle I have to travel first to Denver, then Huston, followed by Cleveland and finally arriving in NYC. How I get there is my choice but I like to be told that I have several options to fly (fix and flip), drive (wholesaling plexes), taxi (SFHs), hike (buy n hold), etc. I also want to be told where I can get additional information such as Biggerpockets or listening to The Radio Guy’s podcast.

I will be attending a NWREIA vender's fair next week and I would like some advice on how to get as much out of the experience as possible. It is my understand there will be attorneys, contractors, realtors and other real-estate related professionals. Things I believe I need to know are:

What questions should I be asking?

Are there any red flags I should be looking for while I am talking with the various individuals and companies?

Is there anything I should not do while at the fair?

Of the various types of professionals, who would be most important for a beginner to build a relationship with? (I am thinking realtors, attorneys and property managers would be initially most important for my overall plans.)

What can I do to ensure that their first impression of me is as good as possible?

Would have been nice of this event was either later in the year or I had started last year. However, as always, the ideal situation is irrelevant. I may not be planning on doing anything for several more months, but I can still use the event to start networking and educating myself some more.

Yep, I have started attending NWREIA meetings. When I can make them anyway.

So start with Portland as my primary focus. Develop and refine my market knowledge, narrow down exactly what aspect of real estate investing I plan to enter first and determine what resources I will need to accomplish my goals. As I gain more experience I can shift part of my attention to the Kelso region.

Thank you both for replying.

I currently live in Portland Oregon which has roughly 300K people. In a month I will likely be moving 60 miles away to Kelso Washington which, along with Longview, has roughly 40k people. As a brand new investor feel I should keep the focus of my market research on Portland. My reasoning is that Portland is more familiar to me, it has more resources for me to tap into, the REIA meetings I have started attending are there and it will likely be easier to find a mentor. On the other hand though, Kelso would likely be cheaper, I would have less competition and it may be easier to learn the market. My gut feeling is telling me to stay with Portland and to focus on the areas of Vancouver, Milwaukie or North East Portland. My brain tells me I should put more research into Kelso and Longview since that is where I will be living. If it makes any difference I am planning to start out either flipping or renting houses.

Anyone have any advice or insight?