good locations to start doing research in

[Sean Kaczmarczyk]

Hi Everyone,

I'm relatively new to real estate investing, and I'm considering whether I should look at investing in-state or out of state. With Colorado being such an expensive market, it seems like the cash flow and appreciation would be good; however, it has a high entry barrier. When I look at out-of-state investing, it seems more attractive due to the lower barrier to entry. What are some places I can look for market research regarding out-of-state investing vs. in-state investing? And would it be recommended to start investing in-state to develop a base, or jump right into out-of-state investing? Thank you.

[Andrew Postell]

@Sean Kaczmarczyk I invested out of state for over 15 years.  I would HIGHLY recommend to do whatever you can to try to find somewhere in state first.  So, Denver is pretty tough...but what about Castle Rock?  Or Colorado Springs?  Or Boulder?  Fort Collins?  Even if it's a bit of a drive that means you can still go and visit your property.  When you invest out of state, you may never see your property.  That's an ENOURMOUS amount of trust to put in a stranger.  Now, when we target a city/area to invest in out of state, the right place to start is in a city where you know someone.  Where can your existing network help you find trustworthy vendors to help protect your asset.  So, any 1% or 2% difference between areas can be erased easily by a bad contractor.  So, invest where you know and do everything you can to be local.

Hope all of that makes sense.