How to Research an Area to invest in?

Question

How do you all research an area before you invest in it? Especially if it’s out of state. I’m currently looking in one area for my first property and haven’t had any success? What should I be looking for to see which city has good opportunities?

Courtney Jones · Answer

Narrow it down to which city or cities interest you. Start looking at housing in those cities (i used zillow) look at best and worst areas (google) Look at population of renters (google) Look what jobs, companies  are in the area. Look at what the house are costing. Create searches that you can review everyday. Look for real estate agents in that area. Google them first and make sure they are full time and not just a weekend realtor. How are they rated in their field? How long have they been at it? You want someone who knows the city well. Call the realtors. Are they responsive?  Have they worked with out of state investors before? If not, call another. Hopefully you will have a lasting relationship with who you pick so if it isnt a good fit, keep looking.  After you narrow down the cities, talk to other people who invest there. Use Facebook. Alot of cities have  real estate investor pages -Example :Dayton Real estate investors. Join up with the pages (free) that interest you. Go there, ask questions. (whats the class be areas? etc.  Best of luck. Life is but a dream.