Vetting an Unknown Neighborhood

[Jenny Kim]

I am relatively new to real estate investing, and I am looking to invest in single and multi-family properties (and one day apartment complexes).  

Property values in my neighborhood (and most all Southern California) are outside what I am able to commit to right now, so I am trying to find other neighborhoods in which to invest.  On the podcasts and in the forums, I have heard Ohio, Denver, DC, Texas and other places are more affordable and sometimes more landlord friendly.  

My question is what is the best way vet an unknown neighborhood/area?

Thanks in advance!!

[Jean Bolger]

Google is your friend! To look at what things are selling for, go to realtor.com or something like that and check out areas. Sort the results from high price to low price or low price to high price to see what kind of range there is. Then go to craigslist or rentometer to check what things are renting for. Look at what's available at your price point. "google-drive" some neighborhoods using streetview. Go to wikipedia for a decent summary of a town/area - history/economics/employment/population trends. Citydata is good too. Look for reports from the local chamber of commerce or business outlooks published by industry groups. Talk to people on this site, talk to local property managers and realtors. After you've sorted out an area of interest and some people that might help you, get in your car or on a plane and go explore for real.