I learned about the city over time and began my out-of-state investing journey.Whatever market you choose, be sure to nail down your buy box.

We realized the screws we were using were too small for the door hinge and we just had to finish that small bottom corner.1/26/25 - We went to Lowes and picked up some 1 1/2 inch door hinge screws (sound in the screw/nail section) and went back to the rental.

@John Underwood hit the nail on the head.

You can point out spots like nail holes where they hung pictures, dirty spots in the apartment needing cleaning, blown outlets they are overusing, etc.

Years go by and eventually Grandpa gets tired of fixing porches, nailing gutters and steam cleaning carpets that 'have a couple more years in them. 

Zillow Senior Economist Orphe Divounguy nailed it when he said mortgage rates have a massive impact on affordability.

Whatever market you choose, be sure to nail down your buy box.

During this time, tenant complained of cross contamination, claims got nail in foot while in kitchen - all the same time accessing these areas to take pictures etc.

There’s huge retal income potential if you nail that balance between improvements that wow tenants and improvements that merely look fancy but don’t justify higher rents.I’d also keep an eye on how your high end plan fits the local demand.

I think if you can nail that down you will be able to find a market easier.As a buy and hold investor some of the things that were important to me when deciding on a market were landlord tenant laws, price to rent ratio, housing demand, ability to build a team, large population 500K plus, multi-family availability and some other factors.take the process step by step and you will be fine.