All Forum Posts by: Tim W.

@James Wise zero spam, but you can think as you want. I was struggling for a long time with my multi family strategy, and finally found a tool that helped. There are so many BP newbies, as I once was. 

but glad you feel better after calling my post spam. 

Slight switch of subject, but relevant to overall post. After a year of getting super frustrated finding good markets to invest in outside my East Coast area, I came across Bright Investor. I liked the data on the site so much that I signed up with a mentorship program with the owner (Donato Callahan). 

I'm in no way related or comped by Bright Investor- just had good experience. Happy to chat with anyone about the service, but working with Donato has been great for me. It's not a cheap service, but it is phenomenal at pulling the data we need in investing in out of state markets. 

@James Hamling thanks for all your responses- I've certainly learned a thing or two from you. I can tell you're passionate, but please don't be rude to the OP (or anyone for that matter). There's more than one way to invest in R/E. 

@Chris Clothier well said. I do like hearing everyone's opinions. I have my own. But I just wish everyone could reply with respectfulness and kindness- goes a long way. 

Thanks for posting. Not surprised to see so much debate. 

im in the camp of needing some CF. A 5%cap rate in a 7% rate environment makes no sense to me. We've seen massive appreciation the last decade- will that continue? I doubt it. So much R/E lost 5% to 30% in the '08 crisis. If you were short on CF, you had no return for several years. 

I invest in the Mid West too, and like the cash flow. I'd rather have cash in my pocket today to reinvest how I best see to it. Having paper equity and being able to borrow doesn't provide the same value as cash in the door today. I'm a high earning W-2 in a high tax bracket- even with all my CF, I barely pay taxes after depreciation, expenses etc. so really, it is a low tax opportunity for me to earn more cash to be reinvested in the best investment options at the time. 

I like the Heloc route due to prepayability and not touching your current mortgage terms (assuming it's a low rate). 

you can also do a hard money loan

I was in a similar spot, so decided to invest outside of NJ. What I learned is that a lot of people will buy non cash flowing properties in these areas and just ride the appreciation. That's risky in my book. 

Think about what areas outside of NJ you may frequent (think work, think extended family etc). There are plenty of areas outside the northeast that will have some CF and will also appreciate 3-6% a year. They may not appreciate at the same level as the northeast, but who knows how sustainable that even is over next 10 years. 

use Bigger Pockets to find other market. I also use and love Bright Investor, which is a tool that breaks down all the metrics to evaluate other locations. 

good luck!

I can only share my experience. I'm investing out of state, and utilize AI to confirm demographics and trends of various neighborhoods. I ask ChatGPT all the time - "is abc neighborhood and A B C or D area". 

also, I've utilized it to finds property managers and other local things. 

@Steve Moskowitz do you have a website or any info you can send over?

I like the mid west markets and personally focusing in on Pittsburgh, Cincy and Louisville. I hear good things about Indianapolis too. 

I think there are plenty of mid west markets that can cash flow and appreciate at the same time. I don't buy that the east and west coast markets will continue to go up 10-15% each year, so outside of my personal residence, I don't invest on the coasts. Good luck!