Hello BP community. I have surfing BP for a few months, listening to podcasts, and reading some good REI books. I currently live in Long Island NY and looking to invest OOS. I have a friend who invests in Columbus, OH which seems to be a good market, and I see a lot of recommendations for people to start in Columbus. Another area I was looking is Central Florida. I am going to be relocating there in a few years and will give me a closer hand on my investments. I am looking to focus on buy and hold, multi family and move up to apartment buildings. Furthermore, I have peaked interest in BRRRR method as well. Let me know what you experienced guys/gals think. Lets connect and talk about some interests and strategies. Mike

@Michael Gulinello Columbus, Ohio is a great market to invest in. We have a great mix of cash flow and appreciation that the other Ohio markets do not have. Our job and population growth make me excited to see what the future holds for the 4 multifamily properties I own here.

I agree with @Remington Lyman , Columbus, OH has a lot to offer to its investors @Michael Gulinello !

@Michael Gulinello how's investing going? Did you end up taking the leap before everything happened? 

Originally posted by @Michael Gulinello :

Hello BP community. I have surfing BP for a few months, listening to podcasts, and reading some good REI books. I currently live in Long Island NY and looking to invest OOS. I have a friend who invests in Columbus, OH which seems to be a good market, and I see a lot of recommendations for people to start in Columbus. Another area I was looking is Central Florida. I am going to be relocating there in a few years and will give me a closer hand on my investments. I am looking to focus on buy and hold, multi family and move up to apartment buildings. Furthermore, I have peaked interest in BRRRR method as well. Let me know what you experienced guys/gals think. Lets connect and talk about some interests and strategies. Mike

Welcome aboard. Many markets available. Cleveland is the one I am most familiar with and it's also very popular with investors across the USA so I figured you'd get some value out of reading The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods. I also have similar guides that you may want to look over for Kansas City, Missouri. & Birmingham, Alabama.

In addition there are tons of other turnkey markets out there besides those listed above. Many of these markets are very well represented by sellers & turnkey operators here on BiggerPockets. In no particular order I have listed some of the most popular markets for out of state investors

• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Dayton, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Youngstown, Ohio
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Saint Louis, Missouri
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Detroit, Michigan
• Erie, Pennsylvania
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Jackson, Mississippi

Each of these markets is popular with turnkey investors because of the low barrier to entry, high rental demand & high rent to price ratio. I recommend setting up keyword alerts for each area as they are discussed in the forums daily with advertisements posted in the BiggerPockets marketplace hourly.

One thing to note when looking at the individual markets, you can make or lose money in any market. Don't think that one particular out of state market will shoot you to success or abject failure. It's not really that complicated to buy out of state. It only becomes complicated when investors try to over complicate or over think everything. Whenever you are buying a property out of state you should do a few things to ensure it's as smooth as possible.

• Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core. Pick a solid B-Class suburban area. Perhaps a nice 1950's built bungalow.
• Always hire a 3rd party property inspector to give you an unbiased feel for the home. The reports are 40-90 pages long and go through the entire house in great detail.
• Get an appraisal. If your using financing the bank requires this. This is good. The bank isn't going to let you blow their money. They have more skin in the game then you do.
• Make sure you get clear title. If using a lender this is a non issue. They will make you do this. It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.
• Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.
• Google Clayton Morris scam and/or Morris Invest scam for a cautionary tale of what not to do when buying turnkey real estate
• Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it. If you are risk averse, real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.

Originally posted by @James Wise :

Originally posted by @Michael Gulinello:

Hello BP community. I have surfing BP for a few months, listening to podcasts, and reading some good REI books. I currently live in Long Island NY and looking to invest OOS. I have a friend who invests in Columbus, OH which seems to be a good market, and I see a lot of recommendations for people to start in Columbus. Another area I was looking is Central Florida. I am going to be relocating there in a few years and will give me a closer hand on my investments. I am looking to focus on buy and hold, multi family and move up to apartment buildings. Furthermore, I have peaked interest in BRRRR method as well. Let me know what you experienced guys/gals think. Lets connect and talk about some interests and strategies. Mike

Welcome aboard. Many markets available. Cleveland is the one I am most familiar with and it's also very popular with investors across the USA so I figured you'd get some value out of reading The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods. I also have similar guides that you may want to look over for Kansas City, Missouri. & Birmingham, Alabama.

In addition there are tons of other turnkey markets out there besides those listed above. Many of these markets are very well represented by sellers & turnkey operators here on BiggerPockets. In no particular order I have listed some of the most popular markets for out of state investors

• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Dayton, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Youngstown, Ohio
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Saint Louis, Missouri
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Detroit, Michigan
• Erie, Pennsylvania
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Jackson, Mississippi

Each of these markets is popular with turnkey investors because of the low barrier to entry, high rental demand & high rent to price ratio. I recommend setting up keyword alerts for each area as they are discussed in the forums daily with advertisements posted in the BiggerPockets marketplace hourly.

One thing to note when looking at the individual markets, you can make or lose money in any market. Don't think that one particular out of state market will shoot you to success or abject failure. It's not really that complicated to buy out of state. It only becomes complicated when investors try to over complicate or over think everything. Whenever you are buying a property out of state you should do a few things to ensure it's as smooth as possible.

• Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core. Pick a solid B-Class suburban area. Perhaps a nice 1950's built bungalow.
• Always hire a 3rd party property inspector to give you an unbiased feel for the home. The reports are 40-90 pages long and go through the entire house in great detail.
• Get an appraisal. If your using financing the bank requires this. This is good. The bank isn't going to let you blow their money. They have more skin in the game then you do.
• Make sure you get clear title. If using a lender this is a non issue. They will make you do this. It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.
• Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.
• Google Clayton Morris scam and/or Morris Invest scam for a cautionary tale of what not to do when buying turnkey real estate
• Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it. If you are risk averse, real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.

 Thanks for the insite James. 

Stay out of C or lower areas right now. I'd look to CT right now if I was you. NY has turned Communist as is very anti-landlord. We've sold most of our NY buildings and expanded into other States.  NY makes Cali look like a dream when comparing both.

Welcome aboard to our group BiggerPockets, Michael!

How's your investing by the way?  Hope all goes well!

Keep connecting with other members in BP site and see you around!

Best regards,

Craig Curelop

Best regards,

Craig Curelop

@Michael Gulinello

I think it really depends on how risk-averse you are as well as how accessible you want your property to be. You could very well jump across the border and invest here in Connecticut, but the returns might not be as high as some of the other locations flks are recommending here. on the other hand, you can drive to the Connecticut rental, while it may be more difficult and generally not worth it to try to travel to locations that are further away.

Personally, I like to be as close to my rentals as possible, but I understand that that is not a criteria for everyone.

Much of Harford county Connecticut is still seeing above the 1% rule for properties on the MLS, and that certainly makes it tempting for investors based in New York, Boston and much of the West coast. Thankfully our laws are not as tenant-friendly as some of the neighboring states.

If you have any questions related to the Connecticut housing market, I am happy to answer!