Look into any and all factors you can think of regarding those areas so that if/when you decide to research other markets, you know what information to look for. 

In Britain it's typically split between buyer and seller, 1-7% total, average 4% but with total transaction costs factored in it's actually more expensive there.

Our pro forma for the self storage property we built was rock solid until we opened the business and a year later I was facing losing everything because of all sorts of factors beyond my control.

Rental competition seems like a big one, but I’d love to hear how you weigh other factors too.Thanks again for sharing your experience—it’s really helpful!

You need to factor in your POTENTIAL upside. 6.

The appealing aspect here is the ongoing population growth and other economic factors.

See the chart from Fair Isaac Company (FICO) below: FICO Score Pct of Population Default Probability 800 or more 13.00% 1.00% 750-799 27.00% 1.00% 700-749 18.00% 4.40% 650-699 15.00% 8.90% 600-649 12.00% 15.80% 550-599 8.00% 22.50% 500-549 5.00% 28.40% Less than 499 2.00% 41.00% Source: Fair Isaac CompanyAccording to this chart, investors should use corresponding vacancy+tenant-nonperformance factors of approximately 5% for Class A rentals, 10% for Class B and 20% for Class C.To address Class C payment challenges, many industry "experts" are now selling programs to newbie investors about how Section 8 tenants are the cure.

This focus gives you a national reach, and that oh-so-important factor; scalability. 

Remember, historically only about 1/3 of LWO/CD buyers close on property, so odd's are you will be with a different finality.And you have to factor that odd's are it wouldn't come back after 3yrs list ready, that's just reality of things. 

In his experience, Memphis’s higher-than-typical rent-to-price ratio sounded great in theory, but property management turned out to be a huge factor-especially if you’re not local.