Best markets to invest in as an out of town investor

[Tom J.]

Hi All,

I live in Denver and work a professional investor (not real estate).  Am considering branching out into real estate investing as well, but probably not Denver.  Anyone has suggested markets in the U.S. that you recommend I consider for buy and hold investing?

Also, I welcome your thoughts on just going with a crowd sourcing service vs buying the properties directly and then hiring a property manager.

Thanks much,

Tom

[Mike D'Arrigo]

@Tom J. Generally the Midwest and Southeast will have the best cash flow markets mostly due to their affordability, strong price/rent ratio's and in many cases, fairly low property taxes. I personally like Indianapolis and Kansas City because I think they have the best combination of good cash flow and strong economic/demographic trends. The interesting thing about the Realtor.com list is that Cleveland is the only cash flow market in their top 50. Memphis, which is a strong cash flow market is ranked #81 out of 100, Indianapolis and Kansas City, which are both very strong cash flow markets are ranked 98th and 99th while markets like Dallas, Seattle, Colorado Springs, Austin and Denver, which don't cash flow at all, are all ranked in the Realtor.com's top 20.