Invest in two states or 1?

Question

I'm new to BP.  I'm looking to invest in two states: Texas and Ohio. Is it best to invest in 1 state instead of both?  I know paying taxes in two states is a pain. Also that Texas is more landlord friendly.

Vivek Khoche · Answer

@Karen L. - I do not agree that rent control is killing the CA option, explore 50- 100 miles around you, research BP for OOS and decide about going 2000 miles.

Good Luck Investing

Vivek

Shawn Ackerman · Answer

@Karen L. What are your real estate investing metrics?  I'm from New York and before I began investing in the Mid-West there were some non-negotiable metrics that needed to be in place to make a market appeal to me.  my question is what are your metrics for a given market considering your going to be investing out of state?

Karen L. · Answer

Definitely looking for single family homes. Property manager would be the way to go.  Thank you for the tip on going out to see the property before investing.  It would be great if investing in California was an option, but rent control is killing that idea--not to mention the property tax, etc.

Joe Hughis · Answer

@Karen L.  -  The answer would really depend on what type of property you would be investing in, what is your investment strategy, and also what is your management plans for those properties.  For instance, if you were looking to get into larger commercial properties in Texas or Ohio, then it would make sense to hire a property management company to watch over your property.  Presuming the numbers work out after taxes, filings, etc., then investing in one state, both, or many others wouldn't really be an issue.  However, if you were newer to real estate investing and you were looking to get one maybe two 1-4 unit properties, the time factor of managing those out of state properties could be prohibitive in itself.  I knew of someone in the past who bought a handful of properties in Texas, but lived in California.  The numbers made sense to buy the properties, but without having a property manager look after his interest, he was forced to make multiple trips back and forth to deal with specific situations.  Yes, it made him money, but travel time and cost eventually made him sell his smaller properties and purchase a larger property where having management expenses made sense.