Hello everyone,

I'm transitioning out of the military after 11 years and am looking at going into RE investing, which is what brings me here. My question is: with no real city to call "home" at this point, how do I narrow my search down to the area I want to invest in and move to? I certainly have preferences on what I would look for in a town to hang my hat in and where I think I'd like to live, but I may as well be throwing darts at a dartboard at this point in terms of finding a place with a profitable market.

Similarly, are there any references (online or otherwise) I should be utilizing to do my research? I've tried the Googlenet but seem to only find realtor sites and MLS listings versus real market data.

Thanks in advance for the insight,

Dave

Congratulations on the next start of your journey!

We have found that having a good W2 income source has been an amazing asset. Therefore how to do you plan on funding your investments. What type of investments are you looking to partake in? When you want to partake in the income. Ie what's your exit strategy.

* where are the tops place my occupation make the most money?

* what are the escrow fees?

*are the houses going to appreciate meaning the rent will also appreciate it?

*do I have fixer upper skils? If so are there duplex and quads in good areas that I like

*what are the tenancy rules? Is the area landlord or tenant friendly

*what expenses exist, in cold weather you find snow removable and other expenses

*what type of tenant class do you want town with

*type of unit single family duplex, apartments etc

What price range if houses am I g

Once I found an area I liked I would look on zillow reviews for an realtor I liked. Than I would contact her and ask to be set up ona list of the latest houses on the mls. I would do this with my top 5 areas.

I person all have found that having a great funding source, w2 income makes life sooo much easier. That finding the top 5 jobs that paid the most would probably be the highest on my list

David,

Read The ABC's of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy. He describes a method of searching out target areas, with how's, why's and a follow through. The information in this book would apply most anywhere. I just finished reading it for the second time and found plenty of helpful information I'd forgotten after reading it before.

Also follow this site. Read the forums, listen to the podcasts and ask questions.

Look forward to your future success    

Thanks for the advice Elizabeth and Tom! I've got a long road ahead, but I'm looking forward to getting started!

Dave

@David Neely  You should move to the dmv area , plenty of jobs and a thriving economy especially for those coming out of the military!

@Anil Samuel it's funny you say that, DMV is one of the areas we're very seriously considering. I went to college around there so I'm vaguely familiar with it, though I'm sure lots has changed since then. Thanks for the suggestion!

Dave