Areas to target as a wholesaler in So Cal?

Question

I am a RE wholesaling newbie and I recently heard that one of the most important parts of sending your first mailing is to target an area with a good amount of investor activity. This seems pretty intuitive, however, I'm curious as to how you find this information?

I understand networking events would be helpful, but is there any way to identify a specific county where one could start? I have been debating between Orange County and Riverside, leaning towards Riverside, but have no actual data to anchor this hunch down to.

In other words, where do I start here?

Appreciate all of your help!

Andrew O. · Answer

Find me an area in SoCal that doesn't have buyers buzz. Please!

If you can find a deal in SoCal, Orange or Riverside county, it will get snapped up.

Andrew

Will Barnard · Answer

There is no one answer to your questions, however, to answer the how do I find the area with investor activity - get county recorder's office records (can get from any title company too and some RE agents in the know) and search for all cash transactions.
Now, some of those will be owner occupied transactions, but the majority will not be. The other key to look at is "non-owner occupied" transactions.

Choosing an area close enough to you is important. Learning what your potential buyers want and what a good deal really is is of upmost importance!

Pete Asmus · Answer

Your going to have to stay with higher price homes here too, Corona, hemet, menifee, area is only 10-15k not enough juice. Some parts of OC and Ontario area are good. Come check out our REIA next week. We are going over exactly how to find opportunities in your market. 
http://www.meetup.com/Coast-to-Coast-REIA-Murrieta/

Liz Spencer · Answer

@ James Vermillion Thanks very much! Def looking for areas in SoCal with some buyer buzz and your info was quite useful. I think we are ready to make our decision before we get analysis paralysis, so we chose based on a few areas that we knew well. Here we go!

James Vermillion · Answer

I am sure some of the CA members will jump in but here are a few of my thoughts:

- Since you are starting out it might be best for you to target the area you are most familiar with.  You probably know a lot more than you realize you know about the area you live in (where the best schools are, where the jobs are, the trendy areas, which areas are going downhill, which areas everyone wants to live, which neighborhoods are seeing renovations, etc).  You may not have thought much about these things but you probably already know, which can be really helpful in getting started.

-  Get online and see if you can find out where the action is.  Look to see where homes are moving the fastest (shortest time on the market) and where a lot of renovated homes are popping up.  This might lead you to some investor friendly areas.

- Look for bandit signs and advertisements from your competition.  How you use this information might depend on the circumstances.  If you feel a certain area is saturated with competition you may want to try somewhere else, but if it looks like several people are finding success in a certain area you should find out why.

- I agree with you about networking.  Nothing can replace talking with others and getting more information on the market.  Do not just rely on networking events though, as there will be a lot of other people there looking to do the same thing.  Stay active on BP and perhaps you can connect with some of the locals for some additional insight.

Good luck!