More advanced college institutions (I went to college in Indiana, but got to admit not many places have Caltech, Stanford and the top rated public system UC, which is 10 schools all in one state) and ability to tap into the brain economy (i.e. tech) can't be discounted either.You definately have to buy only in certain times here though and it is tough to find cash flowing deals.

Investing is really a numbers game, with the variable of the human element thrown in (i.e. crazy tenants and contractors).

Its ability to map all of the recent rents gleaned from CL and other sources is extremely helpful from understanding the approximate ranges of rents to expect in the neighborhood.

Here is my point regarding this, if you have extra capital, why pay down a mortgage that is costing you around 4% when you as an investor have the ability (or should have) to invest that same capital with a yield of much greater than 4%!

Here is an example of what we were able to do with a local lender in PHX: -- Bought six condo's at a total all-in cost of ~$500k in Nov. 2012 -- Refinanced with a blanket portfolio loan in Dec. 2012 using 70% of the appraised value ($600k) --5% fixed rate for 10 years, 15 year amortization, closing costs rolled into the loan Though we were happy with the ability to lump all the properties into 1 mortgage and the rate; the 15 amoritization really hurts the cashflow...but I feel this is common with local banks that hold the paper.

Investigate your ability to build on that lot (zoning, utilities, flood plain, etc).

If you have read any articles as the decades move on water will become more and more of a valuable resource and costs will continue to rise.My clients that buy larger buildings want the water separately metered or the ability to do it.

Sounds great, but politicians wouldn't let it happen, as it devolves power away from them (which they derive from their ability to dispense goodies to favored groups, and to effectively buy votes and maintain theri entrenched positions).

As folks get older, their ability to drive decreases.

Whenever I'm wholesaling a great deal to a buyer, especially one that I have no relationship with, they must show me they have the ability to close.1.