Best areas to spend marketing dollars???

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Best areas to spend marketing dollars???

Account Closed
Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote

Hello all! I just joined PB, and this is my very first post. I am based out of NY, but may relocate to Florida very soon. I am a newbie here, just getting my feet wet and not far from start my marketing campaign, but I have a few questions first. One has to do with location and competition, and 'marketing risk' vs 'reward'. I could be very wrong about this, but I think that Florida is, and will be a gold mine for years to come, because of the probate, and out of state homeowners are so saturated in the state. I hear some of the guru's speak about algorithms and various methods as a way of determining the best areas to market in ('best' meaning dollar wise), and that kind of stuff fascinates me, and I would love to know if there is a way for me to find this stuff out? ...I know it's all about testing the market myself and seeing what works, and I plan to, but I would love to be able to crunch numbers and see which part of the lake 'possibly' has the best fishing spots before I drop my line in. ...Sorry for the long winded post, but any comment will be appreciated. Negative or otherwise. I am hear to learn. ...By all means fire away. 

Thanks.  :)

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Eric Odum
Commercial Real Estate Broker · Tampa, FL · Member since 2014 · 216 posts · 86 votes
11y

Jax

Orlando

Tampa

in that order.  Ask me a month from now and the order might change.  I like Jax.  I am studying it quite a bit.  It lacks a lot of the intensive institutional real estate pressures that S Fl and to a lessor degree Orlando and Tampa face (remember...the hedge funds dumped billions in the Tampa market when it was in the toilet.  Prices turned on a dime and haven't looked back since).  Jax, like Tampa, has some big dollar players lining up plans to improve the area.  It doesn't have the growth potential that the Tampa Bay area does, but it doesn't have the volatility, either.  It has a decent mix of Government/Military, large business and entrepreneurial job markets, which makes it a slower and steadier market.  

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  • Mark Nolan
    Professional · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    @Account Closed welcome to the BP community. You can find great blogs on your specific topics under "Learn" of the BP website. 

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  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    Thank you Mark.

    :)

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  • Daniel Hedges
    Investor · Albuquerque, NM · Member since 2014 · 47 posts · 11 votes
    11y

    the best area to spend your dollars is through direct mail to absentee owners. But keep this in mind. It can take multiple mailings to start to see results. Some people need to see your message several times before they respond. Hope this helps.

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    Yes, it does Mark. Thank you. I realized by listening to podcasts and reading several posts that direct marketing is the best. 1st absentee owners, and 2nd probates. What I meant by "area" was actual counties. I'm moving to Florida in September and wanted to know the best way to find out what the best country to market in, dollar for dollar, meaning what dollar amount can I see the most sales from. ...My thinking is Broward and Palm Beach county you'd have to spend a lot more $$$$ on marketing per month to close deals because of the competition, rather than let's say Tampa, Panama City, Naples, or Sarasota. ...I heard a few gurus talk about certain algorithms they use to  target areas to find better opportunity than others. They factor in unemployment rates, how long a property stays on the market, etc. ...I would love to find out more about this because I can pretty much go to wherever the the best dollar for dollar action is.

    I realize it's not an exact science but I am a geek for this stuff, and Gordon Gekko said it best when he said, "The most valuable commodity I know of is information." 

    Would anyone know of a service, or way I can learn more about algorithms???

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  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    I meant county, not country. lol. 

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  • Jacques Wurms
    Real Estate Agent, Property Manager · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2015 · 142 posts · 27 votes
    11y

    Hello Ofer,

    I would pick one county since Palm Beach and Broward are very big. I work in Broward let me know if I can help you.

    1Reply
  • Adrian Smude
    Rental Property Investor · Plant City, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 379 votes
    11y

    @Account Closedwhat is your plan with the properties?  Whole Sale, fix/flip, rentals?  I think you need to take this into consideration when choosing an area to target.  I haven't heard of an area of FL that isn't Hot right now, some are just more hot than others.  The best Dollar for Dollar would be driving for Dollars but that assumes your time is worth nothing.  I personally focus just outside of the hyped up HOT areas; I'm in it for the long run and can make money without chasing the shinny object/area of the minute.  

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  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    @Jacques Wurms, and @Adrian S. Thank you both for your responses. I guess what I'm asking is what's the best area in the (Florida) pond to fish in? ...Let's say you weren't married, had no kids, and nothing to hold you back, and were looking to make the most money you could. What county in Florida would you drop anchor in and set up  your marketing campaign. I am looking at wholesaling to start, then wholetailing once I get my Florida license, possible rehabs, and buy and holds down the line for cash flow. ...Right now I don't know what I don't know, and for all I know it may take 10k a month in Broward to close the same amount of deals in Tampa for only 5k. Maybe not. I'm just trying to gauge the market.

    I have capital for marketing and don't see myself driving for dollars. My goal is to put together an efficient and steady marketing campaign in a select county to start, then expand to other counties, and ultimately I see myself buying properties over the phone in different states. ...But where would you start?

    Thanks for putting up with my log winded posts. :)

    0Reply
  • Eric Odum
    Commercial Real Estate Broker · Tampa, FL · Member since 2014 · 216 posts · 86 votes
    11y

    Trust me.  Tampa is no push over.  It is highly competitive here. Besides having a large number of aggressive investors, there are roughly 8000 active Realtors in the area, which I believe is one of the highest ratios of Realtors to Residents in the State, if not THE highest. They are out pounding the same people investors are.  What we lack is the overwhelming number of foreign investors that Metro Dade has and some of FLL has.  We still have the foreign investors....just not in the same quantities.  The further you move north from Dade county, the lower the number of foreigners....and it drops off pretty dramatically, at the Dade-Broward line and again at the Broward-Palm Beach line. 

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  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    Thanks Eric. Now we're getting somewhere. :) Let's say you weren't married, had no kids, and nothing to hold you back, and were looking to make the most money you could. What county in Florida would you drop anchor in and set up your marketing campaign?

    0Reply
  • Eric Odum
    Commercial Real Estate Broker · Tampa, FL · Member since 2014 · 216 posts · 86 votes
    11y

    Jax

    Orlando

    Tampa

    in that order.  Ask me a month from now and the order might change.  I like Jax.  I am studying it quite a bit.  It lacks a lot of the intensive institutional real estate pressures that S Fl and to a lessor degree Orlando and Tampa face (remember...the hedge funds dumped billions in the Tampa market when it was in the toilet.  Prices turned on a dime and haven't looked back since).  Jax, like Tampa, has some big dollar players lining up plans to improve the area.  It doesn't have the growth potential that the Tampa Bay area does, but it doesn't have the volatility, either.  It has a decent mix of Government/Military, large business and entrepreneurial job markets, which makes it a slower and steadier market.  

    4Reply
  • JC Gauthier
    Apopka, FL · Member since 2014 · 183 posts · 23 votes
    11y

    I agree with Eric.

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Lake Mary, FL · Member since 2014 · 118 posts · 54 votes
    11y

    Eric is spot on. I was just in Jacksonville and it is still in recovery mode. Orlando and Tampa were hit heavy by funds and the markets have been pushed up. 

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    Thanks everyone for the heads up, very helpful information Eric.

    Just curious, has anyone heard of ways to locate hot spots in different states or counties? I hear some of the gurus speak about using algorithms compiled of certain market indicators and trends in order to track prime markets for  better marketing results. 

    Something like this would interest me very much and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience using a system like this, or if it even exists? 

    0Reply
  • Maxwell Lee
    Real Estate Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2013 · 474 posts · 214 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Eric Odum:

    Jax

    Orlando

    Tampa

    in that order.  Ask me a month from now and the order might change.  I like Jax.  I am studying it quite a bit.  It lacks a lot of the intensive institutional real estate pressures that S Fl and to a lessor degree Orlando and Tampa face (remember...the hedge funds dumped billions in the Tampa market when it was in the toilet.  Prices turned on a dime and haven't looked back since).  Jax, like Tampa, has some big dollar players lining up plans to improve the area.  It doesn't have the growth potential that the Tampa Bay area does, but it doesn't have the volatility, either.  It has a decent mix of Government/Military, large business and entrepreneurial job markets, which makes it a slower and steadier market.  

     As others have said, this is accurate. I'll add that the area is experiencing an explosion (by Jax standards) of residential flooding the market, which concerns me with rentals, but as long as we continue to see steady growth then in the long run it should be ok if you invest in the right neighborhoods. 

    1Reply
  • Dave Bingham
    Contractor · Land O' lakes, FL · Member since 2014 · 129 posts · 56 votes
    11y

    @Account Closed

    I doubt the guru's use algorithms. It's a word that sounds fancy and intimidates people. It's just another mechanism guru's use via fancy verbiage to awe you in order to separate you from your money.

    If you're looking for what's hot you can find that out by thinking about how the markets work. Quantify your market first. Are you looking for multi-family? If so then bus lines, malls and a high population of job creators that don't have time to do all the little things is important. There are dozens of other factors in your criteria but you get the point for multi-family.

    If you're doing single family look for areas that have good school districts, large populations, high list-to-sales price ratio, low days on market, path of progress, etc...You don't need algorithms. You just need to think about what would be important to you as a potential home owner and what will happen to your money when you buy a house. If you'd hesitate to buy in an area as a resident then you probably should as an investor too. Save your money by not buying their programs and talk with some local realtors (good ones) or local investors. It's not what you think but how you think that will create your mint.

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  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    Thank you maxwell and Dave. ...And Dave, I do agree with you about the algorithms, to some extent. I am always suspicious about things like that when fees are being charged for services that haven't hit the main stream, but, seeing is that I am new to the whole marketing aspect, and can't make a financial commitment until September anyway, i am trying to absorb all of the info I can. But I had to ask, because, hey, you never know. I would think that something like an algorithm can be created, though, since most of this information and data is available in government records. ...Something to think about for the techies I guess, if it isn't already out there. :)

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  • Raymond B.
    FL · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 357 votes
    11y

    @Account Closed,

    To Make the @ work do the following:

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    Raymond

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  • Justin Stamper
    Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2012 · 822 posts · 303 votes
    11y

    I mean, for someone new, I almost feel like Jax would be the best shot, since Orlando and Tampa are so hammered by pro's 

    1Reply
  • Robert Curls
    Investor · Clearwater, FL · Member since 2013 · 132 posts · 58 votes
    11y

    There was a link to a report a few months ago on BP that showed the top 10 cities with the lowest home prices and the top 10 cities with the highest rent. Jax was on both of those lists.

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    Do I guess Broward, and West Palm are out of the question, because of the competition? I would imagine it's a frenzy in those two counties right now. It would probably cost a fortune in marketing dollars just to compete. ...Am I wrong in thinking this???

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  • Account Closed
    OP
    Little Neck, NY · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    The reason I ask is I'd rather be living there. In the Jupiter area. ...But I will go where the money is.

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