All Forum Posts by: Zach Lemaster

@Vijay Radhakrishnan Thanks for sharing your experience!  Congrats on getting the first rental under your belt.  That is often the most difficult first step for investors, is to simply get started.  Remember, it's consistent base hits that win the game!  Keep up the great work and we are all excited to see how you scale over time.

@Sean Blair Thanks for the interest Sean!  Welcome to BP.  Happy to answer any questions you have.  We've been on BP for a decade now and have a ton of previous forum threads to look at.  Here are a bunch that will help your research.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/1116050-a-huge-win-with-cori-from-rent-to-retirement

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/850/topics/895660-my-first-investment-property-an-out-of-state-deal

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/88/topics/1047543-big-profits-from-new-construction-sfr-build-in-cape-coral-fl

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/983659-first-investment-property-with-rent-to-retirement?

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1122318-quality-turnkey-companies?highlight_post=6413855&page=1

https://www.biggerpockets.com/co/RentToRetirement

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/929410-rent-to-retirement-updates?highlight_post=5508807&page=1#p5508807

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/893621-rent-to-retirement-review?highlight_post=5222888&page=1#p5222888

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/915728-experience-with-rent-to-retirement-turnkey?page=1#p5345200

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/808479-rent-to-retirement-experiences

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/518583-feedback-on-renttoretirement-and-zach-lemaster?

 We are all there at one point or another.  Yeah, happy to connect and discuss options.  Just PM me.  I'm happy to help however I can.

@Sam Rexford welcome to BP!  It sounds like you have already done quite a bit of research on important things to consider when looking at a new market to invest in.  The US is a very diverse space with many different markets to consider.  I think all the criteria you've outlined are very good data points.  Additionally, we like to look at rent trends over the past 5 years, average leasing times, % of homeowners to tenants for the market as a whole and specific neighborhoods, tax structure for both properties and income and affordability.  We like to invest in areas below the median house price which sits around $400K.  We've found the most success the midwest and southeast in markets that still cash flow very well, but also see strong appreciation in both rents and home values.

I think you are off to a great start to research a new market to invest in.  Don't get caught up in analysis paralysis as we all can over analyze markets forever.  Really it comes down to investing in a growing market, in a good neighborhood & building a great team to support you.  That can be a lot of time and work if your are doing on your own.  An easier path to break into a new market might be investing in turnkey properties with a reputable team.  That is what our team at Rent To Retirement has been helping investors do for a decade now BP.  We are happy to answer any questions you have about analyzing markets or getting started.  Most importantly, choose a market that aligns with your goals!

Wishing you the best of success in your market research!

Zach

@Deal H. that is great to hear you are in a position to make your first investment into real estate. Could you expand more on what other things are important to you in this investment? Why type of price point are you looking, what anticipated ROI/cash flow, how much time do you want to be involved in, what is your risk threshold, how long do you plan to hold the property, are you looking to invest locally or open to exploring other markets, etc.? Both can be excellent strategies, but one option may be significantly better for you based on the answers to these questions.

@Robert Portal thank you for the mention of Rent To Retirement.  You had great advice in this thread!

@Tiffany McKinney Thanks for the interest in my company.  We have been on BP for about a decade now and have thousands of reviews from many past clients.  I've posted some of those links below to help your research.  We are proud of the 253 5-star reviews we have on BP, which we feel like we've earned.  Please note that we focus on new construction properties mainly, which is different than the traditional "turnkey" model.  We've found new construction homes to offer more predictable returns, better tenant quality, higher appreciation in values and rents long term, etc.  However, price points can be a bit higher than say a 1950 rehabbed home.  Just depends what you are looking for.  I highly recommend you set up a call with our team to learn more and answer all your questions.

@Greg Scott had some great perspective on when TK may make sense based on our goals, experience level and how involved you want to be with your investment properties.  I recommend thinking on these topics to determine the best way to get started investing.  Just keep in mind that even though this is "turnkey," you are still real estate.  That means you may have to deal with tenant turns, some vacancy, some variance in rents, etc.  While mngt is in place to handle these things for you, all real estate investments come with things from time to time.  However, this is a great way to access markets all across the country that offer decent returns to acquire long term hold properties.  Please do reach out with any questions you have at any point of time as we are here to assist however we can.

-Zach Lemaster - CEO Rent To Retirement

Here are some past threads that may help your research: 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/1116050-a-huge-win-with-cori-from-rent-to-retirement

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/850/topics/895660-my-first-investment-property-an-out-of-state-deal

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/88/topics/1047543-big-profits-from-new-construction-sfr-build-in-cape-coral-fl

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/983659-first-investment-property-with-rent-to-retirement?

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1122318-quality-turnkey-companies?highlight_post=6413855&page=1

https://www.biggerpockets.com/co/RentToRetirement

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/929410-rent-to-retirement-updates?highlight_post=5508807&page=1#p5508807

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/893621-rent-to-retirement-review?highlight_post=5222888&page=1#p5222888

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/915728-experience-with-rent-to-retirement-turnkey?page=1#p5345200

Thanks James!

Great summary James!

@James Wise Great run down! The attraction to Poinciana from an investment perspective is the proximity to Orlando. This area is significantly less expensive than Orlando, but rents are still high and it's close enough to commute to Orlando. Many families are moving to these adjacent markets for more affordable cost of living causing high rent demand and growth. We are happy to discuss this with anyone that has any questions.

I appreciate everyone's input on this thread!  We are always here to answer any questions anyone has.