Indianapolis Investing beginner

[Suzanne Marta]

Hello Everyone,

    I'm an out of state first time investor. I'm looking for investors of single family rentals to connect with in Indianapolis to better learn this market and what my realistic expections should be. Was wondering what part of town to best start out in.

Thank you...Suzanne...🌺

[Zach Hoereth]

Hey @Suzanne Marta! Glad to hear you are interested in Indianapolis. I have been investing in Indy for a few years now. Below are a couple of tips to getting the ball rolling from my experience! 

1.) If you are buying 2/1s make sure that your cost basis is very low getting in. Most folks run into trouble because they have overpaid and there are multiple capex items in need of attention. For example, if a 2/1 rents for $650 & purchased for 60k. If a water heater or furnace goes out one year the cost to replace either of those items is a significant chunk of your cash-flow. 

2.) If you are sticking with single family rentals buy for cash-flow, and not appreciation. Many out of state investors (OOS) run into these problems because they are not familiar with how appreciation works here in Indy. There are not as big of swings in property value here. 

3.) Have a good team in place. Regardless of whether it is a property manager, agent, contractors, ect. I cannot stress this enough. Great deals can quickly be run into the ground with poor management, so do your due diligence. Perhaps take a trip to the market and visit with some vendors and see who it is that you connect well with. Indianapolis is a small place with a number of good vendors. 

Hope this help! 

Cheers,