Reflection Post
**This is for anyone reading my post and who was in my position when I first wrote it.**
Which market should I invest in and how long should I stick it out to find property in a specific area, before moving on to the next?
Before I answer this question, I think it is important to make sure you know what want and can afford.
For me, I wanted a property that was pretty much turn key and required minimal updates (painting or adding washer-dryer) as a buy and hold investment. I wanted something around 250k at the time of this post, but actually I wanted something around low 200s. My end goal was to have a mix of cash flow and appreciation as a buy and hold investment.
I had to reevaluate many times how much I was willing to spend. I think at times I caught myself willing to spend A LOT more than what I was truly comfortable with. I think I would make excuses or adjust the criterias just to make something work.
I really wanted to invest in certain parts of North Carolina. However, after about 3 months of crunching numbers, it just wasn't working out the way I wanted. I felt spread thin or had to look for other ways to finance the property. (Disclaimer: I was looking at a very specific part of NC. I am sure there are deals to still be found there or it would make a good investment for someone).
I didn't really think much of Ohio until I posted here on Bigger Pockets. Then I remembered I have coworkers out there! I picked the brain of my coworkers, and asked what areas they lived in and what they thought of certain neighborhoods. Ever since, I started to notice companies that were based in Ohio or had headquarters there. From the return address of the mail I received to the the address listing of apps I use at work, Ohio caught my eye. It wasn't much of an "unfair advantage" but I did start to notice Ohio a lot more in my day to day. This got me more comfortable with the idea of investing in that market. To top it off, the market was more within my price range, and I started to see numbers that I was excited about.
I started looking in Ohio in December. Started putting offers in around late January. Closed in mid-March.
TDLR; In my experience, the criterias you adjust for after a couple months of just looking and running numbers will help you determine which market might suit you the best. Lastly, I'm not sure if it makes sense to give a specific duration for how long you should search within a market (considering economic conditions and all), but if I had to I would look into a market for about 3+ months before moving on to the next.
Hope this helps someone & thanks to everyone who responded to my initial post!
