The Midwest is just a lot more affordable, not only for housing.I had a conversation yesterday with a guy from Seattle who said he does not want his middle school age kids to grow up in an area where they are forced to move away, because they can't afford to buy a house close to the parents.Hurricanes and earthquakes pose another issue; god forbid the San Andreas fault finally causes it's next earth quake, or we have another Caterina.

Let's apply some common sense here ... why on Earth would a duplex or triplex sell for under $100k retail and cash flow $500/mo on paper?

I really felt we did an excellent job of purchasing using Google earth and our team on the ground there but that being said I highly recommend traveling there before you invest.

Economics are all the same no matter which route you go, just a matter of doing the research.I didn't say if it was better or not, just that if your budget limited you picked a beautiful and "my heaven on earth" place, but also a really expensive area. 

Paul's posts were great, very down to earth.

I do think we are seing homeowners come back down to earth now, so hopefully this will lead to more opportunity. 

Currently working at the White Earth Reservation north of Detroit Lakes and east of Fargo, ND.Sean

But that is the 1st of many, including charging you for things that other lenders never do, continually changing the terms, and failing to close.There are so many other good lenders out there, I wouldn't use Rocket Mortgage if they were the last lender on earth.

.- Look at google earth at different years and see where development has been created; things like new apt's, neighborhoods, and malls.

Even if you're just a great person, with a passion, looking to meet a really cool, down to Earth guy, living with goals, MESSAGE ME!!!