If you could move to anywhere USA for REI, where would you go?

Question

A little background about why I would ask such a broad question -

My husband and I travel exclusively for work - we could be away from home for a week or four months depending on the contract.  Despite the necessity of property management (and its potential pitfalls) we are looking at REI as an exit strategy from the traveling lifestyle.

We are mainly looking to buy and hold small multi-family properties for monthly cash flow - question still being - if this was YOUR situation where would you move?

As applies to us - we're not fans of huge cities - smaller 'homey' cities are more our vibe - ones that we could invest in yet easily live outside of and have a bit of land for gardening/blacksmithing and general outdoor pursuits.  Any input there?  The sky is really the limit and we'd really like to explore any options before making a firm decision.  Thanks everyone !

Jessica LaPoint · Answer

Thanks everyone !

Elizabeth  Colegrove - that's great advice.  I'm looking at some properties outside Rochester, NY and the taxes in one neighborhood are insane and a few minutes away, thousands of dollars less.

@Ali Boone and @Marco Santarelli - Thanks for a bit of a kick in the right direction - I was thinking along these lines but my husband is still being convinced.  I think we will temporarily be on the ground where we start, make sure we've got great property managers in place and then be on our way - to …. wherever we end up I suppose!

Charles Morgan · Answer

I picked El Paso Texas long before I got into Real Estate. I did it for the weather. The area where I live is fairly landlord friendly but prices make it difficult for flippers. (slim margins).

Account Closed · Answer

Anywhere but DC

Marco Santarelli · Answer

@Ali Boone -- thanks for the mention!

@Jessica LaPoint -- Ali summarized it well from my perspective.

The fact is, if you're investing then your decisions should be driven by the markets and the numbers... Not by your choice of where to live which is often driven by emotional factors.

And even if your choice for a place to live happens to be a good market to invest in, given your "traveling lifestyle" you will likely be living elsewhere soon enough, leaving your property behind.  So it sounds like you will end up being an out-of-state investor along the way.

Your property manager(s) should be a key focus as they are one of the most important members of your investment team.  If you nail that part down, as our clients do, you'll be able to sleep well at night and succeed as an investor.

Continued success!

Bill Gulley · Answer

I could pitch my area, but I won't. If I weren't here, I might be in San Marcos outside San Antonio, or Colorado Springs. But, I'm here and will probably stay.

However, I'd not move someplace because of the RE market, there's an RE market where ever you go, just need to learn how to profit in it.

I'd be more interested in weather, political flavor, medical facilities, schools, the arts, activities, cost of living and economic stability, if those are all good, you probably have a good RE market. :)

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

@Jessica LaPoint

My only recommendation is to check the insurance and tax cost of the property. I have found that a lot of these "cheaper" houses have more expensive "carry costs". Since my husband and I are hoping to use the houses cash flow to retire, our favorite properties are ones that will have "cheap" carrying costs (insurance and tax). Therefore we will make more money off each house when we retire.

Ali Boone · Answer

Hey Jessica!

@Marco Santarelli may likely chime in here, and if he does he will likely respond with a line I think is amazing- "live where you want and invest where it makes sense". I totally agree with him. I wouldn't move somewhere just because I could invest there for two reasons: 1. there's a slim chance I'd really be that excited about living there and 2. the best markets to invest in are always changing. What market may be awesome today may suck tomorrow.

If you guys are traveling anyway and having to use property management anyway, you're really already doing exactly what out-of-state investors do, i.e. trusting other people to tend to their properties. I live in LA and only buy out-of-state because it doesn't make sense to buy here because of prices and other factors. I would never want to sacrifice living in LA, because I'm totally in love with it, just for investing. So I just buy elsewhere :)

Just something to think about. Good luck!

Andrea Shields · Answer

For me I would say Florida, I have lived in NY and had rental properties there. The market here in Florida is pretty friendly for investors and PM's and that is my personal opinion. Someone else in another area could have a different experience. Florida's market has also improved, and because of the weather there has been an increase in relocation. I have not had a property empty for more than 30 days, and I currently own in both SW and Central Florida.

Steven Stokes · Answer

For investments I would say most of the center states are great, the east and west coast are not as investor friendly but for some reason I continue to live there.

I've gotten some amazing deals in the South.

But I think you should live where you'll be the most happy because there are good investments everywhere.

I hope this helps and good luck :)

If you could move to anywhere USA for REI, where would you go?

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