Aloha! New to REI. I have a few location ideas?

Question

Hey there -- I'm new to REI. I'm learning about out of state investing. I'm currently going through roofstock academy and am enjoying the course. It's pretty high level on a lot of things, but I'm enjoying the process of analyzing deals.

I've decided for my first property, being potentially 5k+ miles away, I don't want to just use roofstock. I'm interested in working with a realtor that's also an investor in the local areas and have them find me off-market deals. I'm definitely interested in turnkey -- As I just don't have the experience or passion involved with rehab -- that being said, from a strategy perspective, I do love the idea of growing a wide portfolio of cash cows in the midwest.

I'm specifically interested in multi-family 2-4 unit rentals and my long term goal is to own 5+ unit apartment buildings. (like 24+ unit buildings)

What I would love to know from experienced investors is which region you would target first?

I've contacted investment realtors in the following areas to get insight into markets but would love any recommendations and experience you all may have.

Here's where I'm looking to buy:

Max Home Value: $250k
Property Type: Multi-family (four plex preferred)

Milwaukee
Detroit
Clevland
Memphis
St. Louis
Kansas City
Pittsburg

From what I'm learning about and reading about, from a cash flow perspective, these are great investmentment areas. Do you have rental properties in these locations? Which do you feel is the strongest?

What website or resources do you use to evaluate a good market in a specific territory? For example, how can I pick between Milwaukee and Clevland? What resources can I find online to help me decide on the better market to invest in?

Also -- If anyone does buy homes on Roofstock, please get in touch with me. It seems really appealing, but not knowing anything about the specific location of the unit is terrifying vs. I feel like communicating with a realtor in the area will hopefully have my best interest at heart.

If there's any newbie investor discord chats, slack groups, or fb groups -- please send them my way. Looking to get really involved with the community.

Jonathan

Cayden Standlee · Answer

Hello @Jonathan Weinberger, I am glad to hear that you excited about real estate! When looking at out of state investing, as you stated, finding an expert in the area is the best course of action that will help you to succeed. One of the major parts of real estate in location, location, location. This is exactly what you are paying someone for is to know the location, the demographic, the analytics of that market. As for personal experience here in Milwaukee, I have several properties and you are able to maintain a stable balance between cash flow and appreciation when the market is right. I think that you have a good scope of the locations that you are looking at and now you need to hit the ground running!

If you have any questions or need advise, feel free to shoot me a message

Scott Sklare · Answer

Hello Jonathan,

Congratulations on your decision to invest in real estate.  I am going to private DM you through BiggerPockets - please watch you inbox.