Watching properties

[Karen M.]

OK, spring is here and there are for sale signs all over my neighborhood....

I am just getting started, just learning, writing a business plan, need to start reading about dozens of topics and really learn before we even think of making any buys.

But.... I wonder if now is a good time to start watching some properties...

There are a few properties in our neighborhood that I drive by every day. I'm curious about these. One is down the street and has been on the market forever (OK, all winter). Another across the street had a for sale sign forever (longer than the other) and now the sign is gone but I don't see a big SOLD sign and I don't see signs of moving in (but I'm not that nosy).... but I wouldn't miss a moving truck, I drive by both these homes 2x/day on the way to school.

Near my son's preschool a few more homes came on the market including an interesting little duplex.

Would it be useful to keep tabs on any of these properties, or to scope out a few duplexes nearby to get a sense of these properties? The two down the street are worth more than the home I live in... probably out of our range to do anything and I"m not up to speed yet. I'm at the... gonna read some books, take a million notes, go network at a real estate meeting and then figure out our strategy stage.

If I were to keep notes, what should I study? It is interesting to me how very long these two nice houses have been on the market.

Thanks for any notes. I don't want to waste time. Maybe I need to just read, or maybe I should be getting a feel for the target areas I think we will be interested in in the future? I am right here in my neighborhood so a few of these are easy to observe.

Thanks!
Karen