There's plenty of business around for investors; befriend and work with your competition.

Since he's starting a new project, maybe you could use this to your advantage.

I would encourage you to post often in some of the general boards, as some of the more specific boards require a set number before you can post or reply.I would say just read as much as you can on here, take advantage of the more senior investors and have fun with it!!

Doesn't cost much and may give you a leg up on the competition.

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.

They are a limited partnership so retain the tax advantage, but, are highly illiquid.

I mostly wholesale from MLS, my guys dont mind since I'm handing them something with no frenzied competition that the MLS generates.

I wouldn't have hesitated a bit if it wasn't literally across the street, I can think of few advantages but I'm not so sure it's such a great idea after talking to few people about it...I'd like the perspectives of BP member and see if anyone been in a similar situation?

There's also a lot of competition for section 8 rentals, with more every day, so this may not hold true forever.

My quad's come out to 64,000 a door for 850 to 950 a month in rent on my apartments.I don't look at it only from a cash flow perspective however.The area I have the buildings in is an A location prime for redevelopment down the road.Mike it sounds like your local market is competitive with investors and your margins are thin.On one hand it is good to be in a thriving market where demand is strong because usually supply is lower and the amount of rentals and new development for multifamily cannot meet demand.This helps rents grow at a rate that outpaces utility increases and inflation.The downside is it can make some investors overspend on a property because they feel good about the market.I looked for over 2 years before I bought something.I said many times those buyers were nuts.I tracked the properties and many investment properties after purchase just 1 to 2 years later went into foreclosure.They bought at such a price that it wasn't sustainable.I look for a 10 CAP or better on my purchases.The problem is if you someone who has only gotten 1 percent interest off of a CD or Treasuries or they have gotten beat up in the stock market.Those types of buyers jump up and down to get a 7% annual CAP return beating out your offers everyday of the week.By in large many buyers like this can be lazy.They only look in the MLS for listed properties.Value can be found marketing to sellers that are not on the market.They don't want to make public all of their problems ( I know it is common knowledge of default at some point but this is their mindset ).