All Forum Posts by: Zackarias Aitchison

Hey! 

I'm new to the investing space, but I'd love to know... 

If I'm looking to invest in an STR that I'm going to hold for a long time, what metrics should I be looking at?

What are some benchmarks you use personally to tell on paper if a property has the potential to be a good investment? 

Hey! 

Obviously, every investor has different benchmarks...

But if YOU are looking at investing in a buy and hold, what are your minimums/maximums that you want to see for the following benchmarks...

- Maximum Crime Rate Of The Community

- Minimum Population Of The Community 

- Minimum Average Income Of The Community 

- Maximum Rate Of Poverty In The Community

- Minimum Renter To Owner Ratio In The Community

- Maximum Vacancy Rate Of The Community 

- Maximum Unemployment Rate Of The Community 

- Minimum Percentage Of Post-Secondary Graduates Of The Community

Now I know not everyone will use every single one of these statistics, but if you use any of these statistics, what are the minimums/maximums a community needs to have for you to consider investing in a buy & hold opportunity there?

Cheers! Excited to see your input. 

@John Sayers

I haven't heard of these two either! 

Between this post and a couple of others on similar topics, I have quite a long list of online resources to collect some valuable information. 

Thank you for your input! It's appreciated. 

@Justin R.

Thanks for your input man! 

I like this double-sided approach, making sure the numbers for the investment make sense, as well as making sure the location and neighborhood the property is in will make sense to find high-quality tenants and to be able to charge high-end rent. 

Cheers!

@Greg Kasmer & @Bjorn Ahlblad

Thanks so much for adding this. I'm starting to see that the simpler the better. 

First and foremost you need to know what your goal is with investing, and then use the simplest method possible to decide whether or not that investment fits your own personal goals as to not get bogged down spinning your wheels all day. 

I appreciate what you guys have added to the discussion. Thank you! 

@Derek DeVerna

I like this approach, keeping things as simple as possible to not get bogged down in decisions. 

I'm a real fan of the KISS acronym, Keep It Simple Stupid. 

Derek, I'm curious about this... What sort of factors do you look at to help you decide how long you're going to keep a property in your portfolio when investing in a buy & hold?

Thanks for your response man! Cheers

@Drew Sygit

I totally agree with what you're saying. 

Everything, when investing OOS, needs to be compared on a basis of the neighborhood vs the city that the neighborhood is in. 

I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around how you'd manage a property OOS without a stellar PMC, to me that's an essential team member that makes OOS investing possible. 

@Joshua Janus put me onto a really informative blog post that talks about the team you need to have in the neighborhood you're investing in when you cannot visit the area yourself that you might find reinforces a lot of what you're say, 

Give it a read. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Thanks for your input, it's always appreciated man! Thank you! 

I'm going to give the blog posts you linked a read now, Cheers! 

@Mike Kehoe

Thank you for the detailed post! 

I send you a connection request, I'd love to chat more one-on-one. 

Chat soon! 

@Todd Rasmussen

I totally agree, when you don't have your own two feet in the area, what makes or breaks the deal is who's feet are on the ground. 

Thanks for the tip to look at the county, city, and state levels for fees & additional taxes though, that will help guide some of my future research. 

Thanks for the input man! 

@Eliott Elias

This also makes a lot of sense, always being on the lookout for properties that can outperform what you're currently invested in so you can swap your lowest performers first when you find a better investment. 

Thanks for your input man!