Communication is the key to making this transition less stressful.

I like commercial because there is not as much competition for it.You can structure a deal more creatively and there are more different types of lender loans than for residential.Residential is highly regulated by the government now.Commercial I don't want the government messing it up as well and squashing creative financing.I like commercial for economies of scale and ramping up larger transactions.You can make money in residential it is just not my thing.I like retail and multifamily.Medical will be hot for many decades to come as well with the boomer generation retiring.I don't care much for industrial but I am seeing some transition areas where a developer takes an industrial shell of a warehouse leasing at 2 sq ft.They put improvements in and get rezoned to mixed use retail and get 15 sq ft lease rates.

Apart from the obvious(long idstance dilemmas), we feel with our set of job skills, we can build a business there and make the transition.My question to seasoned BP'ers is: what kind of strategies would you use to make this transition successful?

There is still much supply and competition with cheap money, so I expect a lower cost basis to negatively impact rental rates.The middle-class is also in a transition, but has been in higher demand recently probably due to post-foreclosure tenants looking to rent.

For instance, one guy last night did a short sales for a smooth 170k profit (ARV was around 400k)- you'd actually be very hard pressed to make a profit like that any where else in the nation.But I digress, I'm still interested in more marketing ideas/ways of getting people to call you so I can ALWAYS BE CLOSING!

The whole process went by very smooth.

My first rental is up and running smooth.

I don't know who E.H. is--it's another group of people.As I said I did buy one another house through this group (a normal wholesale deal) and it went smoothly.

All of those are good sources, I would include that the home is in an area that is still transitioning.

hey Johnny - what i am transitioning to is to buy, rehab, hold for 2-3 years and 1031ing them into larger properties.