All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@joshua dorkin
@joshua dorkin (and / or anyone)... I've always heard this but never was sure what this meant in "knowing ur area".. I know... almost a obvious answer, ud think, but I guess my questions r really:

1. what factors are most important to consider in knowing ur area? school districts n scores? neighborhood value? crime? commute distance? economic trend? ethnic makeup? areas of target value (I.e., 300k vs a 500k area?

2. what priority shud one consider in knowing their area?

3. isnt it sufficient enough to kno the neighborhood price range n then decide purchase price for a property?

3a. as a relative newbie (understanding the numbers n market BEFORE investing), I just wondered what exactly, if we were to prioritize factors to know about ur area, would be...

4. isn't knowing the neighborhood comp range sufficient for flipping a prop?

thx!

haha.. if these types of "deals" or post are commonly found on CL, it may b an indicator that this method of advertising is more a deal for the poster than a deal for the buyer.

however, I'm always amazed at some of the most obvious things not to do are taken up by others...orrr maybe the poster is playing the odds/numbers game?

:) it's certainly a deal in bizzaro world.

useful post...(bump) thx for sharing!

also another useful thread:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/54108-buyer-s-list-how-to-

Elementary and Highschool are important. I think college is a great opportunity for a fun social experience, but not necessary. I went to college - great fun, friends, social... what a waste of money tho, other than that.

But really, where else can you go to build life long friendships living a shared reality during the physical peak of your adult life?

that said, if you go to a highly reputable/connected school, you can't get really get that anywhere (the membership/alumni connections too). college might be worth it for those kinds of connections tho. :)

what a great question! :)

I'd imagine one major, common challenge is the same thing that can be said for a lotta things in life: Getting in our own way and not realizing it soon enough or maybe not being aware of the things we do to keep us from our goals. Yes, general and vague, but I believe to a likely factor.

reminds me of a conversation I recently had w/a friend who's an immigrant coming from a third world country. In a nutshell, he was just amazed (dumbfounded) in how there could be such poverty in America. Where he comes from, the infrastructure and resources that we have in our society don't come close to the virtually raw land that they lived on in the village.

he's killin' it in commercial right now, btw... comin' from only the clothes on his back w/his family of 3 and his wife w/his broken english. :)

definitely we (i) get in my own way more times than i may realize...

thanks for the great question/post!

any fun updates on this thread? anyone? I certainly enjoyed my 20s... hope Tom is w or wo the lambo..

I agree that I can find myself overanalyzing from time to time. aside from the observation that people overanalyze things, what would you recommend for selecting an area to invest in? what is enough vs. too much? can we select 5, 7, 20? factors and apply that across the market to determine where to begin investing - (more rhetorical than directed at you, BUT if you'd like to share, that's cool too!)?

I have my rough formula, but I still haven't determined w/confidence one that I can apply across the market to determine where to invest... yet.

for now, some of the factors i gauge (in no order) are:
(flipping)
median income
median household size (kinda)
median home sales for the hh size i'm targeting
proximity to major work areas (i.e., corporate, factory, etc.)
unemployment rate & trend
school stats
owner/renter ratio
price-rent ratio

(rental)
prox to major work areas
rental rate for a 2br
ue rate/trend

in my first attempt to determine "best bang for the buck" for rentals, i took national statistics and crunched them into a spreadsheet. this thread discusses similar to "selecting a place to invest" topic: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/72764?page=1#p476100

NOTE: This is my first attempt to determine "best bang for your buck" areas to invest. I do plan to update my approach and I'm also open to any constructive feedback to consider in revising this list.

here's the shortcut link to the snapshot:
http://bit.ly/U81fXi

Based on other people's feedback I find on this topic, I'll revise the ranking and share w/the group.

Hey Todd,

I've been digging into stats to help me determine areas. While #s don't necessarily tell you everything, I think they're good guide posts. I think it really depends on which #s you look at. For example, as mentioned above by others, I'm finding quality of schools & school districts (greatschools.net) help... as a side note, it's very interesting to see the grad success rate & ehtnicity stats for grads too!

NOTE: while i let the usual #s support my conclusions, I've learned not to use just the #s. I've been experimenting with "circumstantial data" to give me clues. none of the factors alone tell me anything, but when you put it all together, it gives you a better idea.

Other data points are proximity to supermarkets & banks. In my area, proximity to schools & supermarkets are a big PLUS to families since they rely on walking and mass transit for transportation. Perhaps finding out more about what your target renter seeks could help you determine better what areas to scout out. As for the comment about proximity to bank, I noticed the scarier parts of town don't have the convenient access to banks. Google maps or any map service, actually, can give you a visual on banks on location. And yes, I'm not saying that just b/c there's a bank nextdoor that your neighborhood is safe either... just an interesting note in the more obvious warzone type areas that I found in my area (the lack of access to banks or places of $ - payday store fronts, etc.) Also, I am finding an interesting correlation of density of section 8 low income areas (in MY area, at least) to good vs "not so good"/war zone type areas. To date, I'm preferring the low-income, sparse-to-none sect8 areas look into.

This is getting longer than I had planned, to bullet point:
1. school rankings
2. proximity to supermarkets is a big plus (families prefer this convenience)
3. banks/payday sites (i suspect a helpful indicator as they like to help minimize risk while at the same time cash in on the neighborhood)
4. knowing your area helps -city plans, etc. (joel owens feedback is good: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/79813-target-neighborhood-analysis-and-evaluation)
5. have you tried talking to the neighbors? haha... ok, maybe not.. the closest I settled for was talking to the local businesses (liquor stores, eateries, etc.)
6. section 8 densities... if i were to pick a neighborhood filled w/sect8 vs. one w/some to none and both areas have similar stats, i'd go for the some-to-none sect8 neighborhood.

anyway, the above is changing all the time, but what helps me better understand a neighborhood is all the circumstantial data... mix that w/the census data & local data stats, and i have a better guess at what to invest in. But like any formula, it's not gonna assure you a "safe" rental. trouble (and turfs) can move over a period of time.

Sorry for the ramble!

Hmmm... i'll do a revision on this chart in the next week or so. I've also included a table of states that show eviction policy in effect... basically, landlord friendly vs. tenant friendly states. my next "best place to invest" chart will take this into consideration as well as a few other factors.

here's the link for landlord vs. tenant friendly states:
http://bit.ly/UgG59f

hope this helps!

Top 21 most leveraged areas for RE Investing...
Season's Greetings!

For the past 6mos or so, I've been actively pursuing real estate investing - specifically in the so cal market.

In my pursuit, I've been geekishly testing a range of data/analytical models for evaluating real estate from the national to county to city to zip code, neighborhood, and even .25mi radius search (and neighborhood block) levels! I've only recently begun pulling my head out of the data and really putting my hypotheses and data models to the test in the real world - so far, with positive results.

Anyway, i was recently playing with the numbers from various sources, and I put this together for those of you who may be curious about what areas/markets based on real data may be the "most bang for the buck" areas to invest in. My criteria for determining this was simply: "gimme the areas with the lowest unemployment rate; the areas with highest rental rate, the areas with low price-to-rent ratio"

the table should be pretty self-explanatory (of course, to me at least! :) )... i've shared this on my dropbox...

This table is intended to identify the most leveraged areas to buy and rent...(and i suppose to buy and flip). I did not optimizefor best areas to buy and flip. This lists the top 21 areas in the country. Keep in mind, however, that you still have to target best cities (or even zip codes/neighborhoods) in the metros listed to invest in.

NOTE: This is my first attempt to determine "best bang for your buck" areas to invest. I do plan to update my approach and I'm also open to any constructive feedback to consider in revising this list.

here's the shortcut link to the file:
http://bit.ly/U81fXi

Please feel free to let me know if there's any assumptions missing, in question, OR if you just have any questions.

Hope you find this analysis useful!

-Kelvin

p.s.
get dropbox here:

http://db.tt/ESVQYeX

it's a best in class tool for collaboration & data sharing if you don't have it already. (FYI) this link gives me bonus space for my account .. would appreciate the bonus space if you choose to use dropbox!