All Forum Posts by: Rob Ko

Hi Rob,

1. Look at your finances. See how much money you have to play with.  This way you know what markets you can invest in.  This eliminates so many options by just doing this step. 

2. Now you know how much pick 2 markets that interest you.  Now do some homework on which one you like best.

3. Pick 1 market and scale into that one over time.  No need to have properties all over the place.  Make zero sense to me.  The only way this works if you buy larger 200+ apartment buildings across the country which gives you scale.

Crime rate relative to surrounding areas, school ratings, business's, economic development, median income.

I agree with everyone else saying its probably a good idea to drive it. You see a lot of stuff in person that can give you clear signs of where a neighborhood stands. Plus you can talk to people and get opinions like the police men and local businesses. Say you are thinking about "moving" soon

@Rob Ko. Best way I think is to check the property records and see who owns what. If it’s a mix of homeowner and rentals probably B area. If it’s all rentals definitely C (or lower) usually

Hi Rob,

There is one way to do it correctly.  You need to fly to the area and do the homework yourself.  Anyone that skips this step will be really hurting their business. Your version of a B B+ area will be different my mine or some locals living out of state.  

I have seen so many times people will say this is A area nice new home.  I research and its a C area to me. 

@Rob Ko to be the most accurate you’ll have to go in person. However, you can probably get a ballpark idea by checking crime, rents, and home size, age, values relative to other areas in the same region. Google street view the property and click down the street. Maybe look for commercial vehicles, they may be a sign of a working class neighborhood. Nothing is going to be better than visiting in person or talking to someone with boots on the ground there.

There is a good article on this very topic.

It can also depend on how many deals you expect to go into with this partner. If the arrangements change from one deal to the next, or some of the investments you enter into are solo, you might consider a Series LLC. The Series LLC can operate the individual "child" series separately from one another which can offer some flexibility, but they all sit within the "parent" Series LLC saving you time and money from creating separate LLCs for each deal.