Hi all,

What are people's thoughts on small town investing. If you do use this method, do you have certain criteria (ie- current pop, expected pop, occupancy, etc)? Thinking I found a solid deal in a small town but the population is only about 3500 with small growth.

Pros:

Less competition

Cheaper

Good cash flow

Cons:

Low appreciation

Hard to find tenants fast

I don't think there is anything wrong with it. You pretty much explained what your are getting into.

Its purely a cash flow deal. Are you willing to take on the fact that the vacancy will be higher and the home will on the market much longer then normal when ready to sell.. 

Some people don't have the stomach for that like myself or the time.. Some do..

@Rob Hartz

I am in your same predicament. I have found some inexpensive properties in a small town that will mostly require cosmetic work. They are good sized houses from 3 bed 2 bath, up to 5 bed 2 bath. I am totally looking to these towns as cash flow only. Since I can get into these properties with mortgages less than my storage unit cost, I'm not concerned about resale value. If I can get my costs back in 2 years to 3 years, it would be worth the investment. Then I would sell off the property to a tenant when I was ready to get out of the town.

I do have the same concern about finding tenants. So far I have only found two rentals in the whole town. I still need to do more research but that troubles me a little bit. I am considering splitting the houses into duplexes if I can get cleared through zoning. (I don't think this area has a lot of apartments around.)