Hi BP Members, as a new Investor to the Grand Rapids area I have recently been soaking up as much knowledge as I can before tackling my first flip.

It's a cliche.However,one other fad we have seen on BP is this pull to lower priced markets (I won't mention names so as not to offend sensibilities,but you probably know them).The reality of the business is that these markets are lower priced for a reason.You may be getting an assassin's cash flow and C-O-C returns today from your units in these markets but when jobs hemorrhage in a recession,your cash flow rapidly turn negative.Big markets suffer less in a massive recession.Occupancy and vacancies mirror what the local job market is doing.The sole reason I relocated to Jacksonville from Cleveland in 2011 is to stop being an "out-of state investor".That brings me to the other point under this topic.We saw a very lucrative 16-unit listed some 18 months ago.Well,it should be lucrative,except despite listing at an attractive price,most interested buyers couldn't get the numbers to work.The numbers didn't work because the out-of-state owners were getting absolutely wiped out year-on-year by phony expenses logged by their "boots-on-the-ground" and PMs.Even in strong markets,it's crucial to buy in good parts of town.That way,when vacancies inevitably occur during the apocalypse ,your copper wiring or HVACs won't be stolen....or your property vandalized.Choose your market wisely.

However, the appreciation compared to CA isn't as rapid.

Terry   Norman   Rapid Mortgage Solutions LLC   Where are the local investor meetings being held?                                             

I have a goal of 5 properties in the next 5 years minimum and then hope to expand more rapidly thereafter and want to ensure I am planning for my exits and retirement as well as my current income.  

IF you are rapidly paying down CC debt that occurred from a one-time event you might consider setting the windfall cash aside to invest, carefully.

I recognize that now it's time for me to take action (I can hear Brandon's voice in my head as I type this).Atlanta is a beautiful city and the housing market is rapidly evolving.

Austin Board of REALTORS® releases November 2017 Central Texas Housing Market ReportAUSTIN, Texas – Dec. 14, 2017 – Single-family home sales declined in the city of Austin but increased across the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) for the second month in a row, according to the November 2017 Central Texas Housing Market Report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®.Brandy Guthrie, 2017 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS­® commented, “Due to rapid population growth throughout Central Texas, Austin continues to have one of the highest demands for housing in the nation.

But as rapidly as possible, he's got to begin layering in the other areas of wealth building where appropriate! 

To further complicate things, I am in an RSO zone and have been holding off on getting tenants in the meantime to avoid paying relocation fees.The silver lining is that the supposed DUPLEX that I bought is legally recorded as a TRIPLEX in a rapidly gentrifying area and has already gained equity, but that type of project falls outside my scope of rehab capabilities and my finances are stretched pretty tight as it is.